half century, the elgar society 1951-2001

Half-CCentury

The Elgar Society, 1951-22001

Written and compiled by Michael Trottwith contributions from

Frank Beck, Frank Greatwich, Geoffrey Hodgkins,John Knowles, John Norris and Ronald Taylor.

The Elgar Society

2001

Published in Great Britain by

Elgar Editions

the publishing imprint of

Elgar Enterprises20 High Street, Rickmansworth, Herts WD3 1ER

(e-mail : [email protected])

© Michael Trott, Frank Beck, Frank Greatwich, Geoffrey Hodgkins,John Knowles, John Norris and Ronald Taylor, 2001.

First Published : March 2001

All rights reserved.No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,

or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,without the prior permission in writing of Elgar Enterprises.

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not,by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated

in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is publishedwithout the publisher's prior consent and without a similar conditionincluding this condition being imposed on any subsequent purchaser.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication DataA Catalogue record of this book

is available from the British Library

ISBN 0 9537082 2 5 (Elgar Editions)

Printed and bound in Great Britain byHobbs the Printers Limited,

Brunel Road, Totton, Hampshire

Previous page : The Malvern Hills from Longdon Marsh, where Elgardrew inspiration while writing The Apostles. (M L Waite)

Elgar, 1922, by either Richard Hall or Herbert Lambert(courtesy of Elgar's Birthplace)

Contents

Foreword by the Chairman of the Elgar Society 1

Introduction 2

1. The Early Years by Frank Greatwich 3

2. The 1950s 7

3. The 1960s and Early 1970s 13

4. The United Kingdom Elgar Society 23

5. The Establishment of the Regional Branches 27

6. The Last 25 Years 30

7. The Membership 33

8. The Elgar Society in North America by Frank Beck 34

9. The Elgar Society Council 36

10. Managing the Finances 38

11. From NEWSLETTER to JOURNAL by Ronald Taylor 46

12. From the Editor’s Chair by Geoffrey Hodgkins 48

13. Elgar Society Publications by Geoffrey Hodgkins 52

14. Elgar Society Recordings by John Knowles 54

15. Elgar Houses 63

16. The Elgar Graves 64

17. Elgar and the Internet by John Norris 66

18. Finale 68

Appendices

Appendix 1 - Presidents and Vice-Presidents of the Elgar Society 73

Appendix 2 - Officers of the Elgar Society, 1951-2001 74

Appendix 3 - Honorary Members of the Elgar Society 76

Appendix 4 - Recipients of The Elgar Medal 76

Appendix 5 - Dates of Formation of the Regional Branches of the Society 77

Appendix 6 - Elgar Society Recordings 78

Appendix 7 - Elgar Society Publications 80

Appendix 8 - A T Shaw Lectures 81

Appendix 9 - Plaques on Elgar Houses 82

Appendix 10 - Elgar Milestones, 1951-2001 84

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The Elgar Society, 1951-2001 v

Illustrations

Frontispiece: Elgar, 1922, by either Richard Hall or Herbert LambertTitle page: The Malvern Hills from Longdon Marsh

pp 19-22 l. Miss Kathleen Pearn, A T Shaw and J V H Tompkins, public meeting in

Malvern, 5 December 1950.2. A T Shaw (Chairman) and Professor Ian Parrott (Vice-President) at A T

Shaw’s Worcester home, 1971.3 & 4. Unveiling of the Elgar Memorial Stone, Westminster Abbey, 1 June

1972.5. Alan and Joan Webb, Elgar’s Birthplace, 1972.6. West Midlands Branch tree planting on the Malvern Hills at the old West

Malvern Quarry, January 1974.7. E W A (‘Bill’) Jackson, Hon. Secretary of the Elgar Society, 1976-1979.8. Jim Bennett and Jack McKenzie, then present and past Curators of Elgar’s

Birthplace, 1984.

pp 40-45 1. Dick Mountford (chauffeur) with Elgar and dogs in his Lea Francis, Napleton

Grange, 1925.2. Elgar outside Queen’s Hall in November 1928, after a rehearsal of Falstaff.3. Elgar’s other family, the Graftons, at The Elms, Stoke Prior, c.1905.4. Lady Elgar at Plas Gwyn.5. Elgar, 1904.6. Drawing of Elgar at Marl Bank by ‘Batt’.7. Elgar Family Grave, Astwood Cemetery, Worcester, 1996.8. Elgar Grave, St Wulstan’s, Little Malvern, 1997.

pp 69-721. Ronald Taylor, David Morris, Christopher Robinson, Carol Holt and Trevor

Fenemore-Jones, Lawnside, Malvern, 26 May 1990.2. Geoffrey Hodgkins, current editor of the Elgar Society JOURNAL.3. Dr Jerrold Northrop Moore (Vice-President) about to be presented with the first

Elgar Medal from Sir Yehudi Menuhin (President), Abbey Road Studios, 1992.4. Gramophone Record of the Year Award for Vol 1 of The Elgar Edition, 1993.5. Elgar Society Thirtieth Anniversary Dinner, Abbey Hotel, Malvern, 1981.6. London Branch presentation of 90th birthday cake to Wulstan Atkins, 1994.7. Tadaaki Ot aka and Andrew Neill, presentation of Elgar Medal, November 2000.8. Ann Vernau, John Wallace, John Norris, and Lani and Judy Spahr at

Tiltridge Vineyard, Upton-upon-Severn, 31 May 1998.

p89: Elgar by Richard Hall, Gloucester, 1922.Back cover (top): Ripon Diocesan Coat of Arms that hung in Elgar’s study

window at Marl Bank.Back cover (bottom): Roberts Coat of Arms in petit point by Lady Elgar.

Half-Centuryvi

Acknowledgements

Michael Trott wishes to thank, besides theindividual contributors, the following people whohave provided information to help in thecompilation of this document: Chris Bennett, JohnGreig, David McBrien, Raymond Monk, DavidMorris, Andrew Neill, Carl Newton, Professor-Emeritus Ian Parrott, Martin Passande, MichaelPope, Nicholas Ratcliff, Paul Adrian Rooke andTimothy Shaw.

The anniversary logo was created by JudithBranham, assisted by Stephen Cox and MartynMarsh.

Michael Trott has been a member of the ElgarSociety for over twenty-five years and is Chairmanof the West Midlands Branch.

The Elgar Society, 1951-2001 1

Foreword by the Chairman of the Elgar Society

When I was presented to the Prince of Wales in Worcester Cathedral in 1981prior to his unveiling of Elgar’s statue, he asked me what the Elgar Societydid. This was and remains a valid question, and although its answer lieswithin these pages, it is one we should ask ourselves from time to time.Without a purpose, a society like this will become complacent and losemomentum. Inevitably, though, we cannot appeal to all those who have aninterest in or who have a love of Elgar’s music, and indeed there are thosewho are naturally antipathetic to membership of a society such as this.However, our size does demonstrate the special place Elgar’s musicoccupies in the hearts of many music-lovers in Britain and increasinglyelsewhere. His fascinating and well-documented life enables us to discover,continually, new facts and angles, which shed light on Elgar’s creativeprocess, as well as that of his contemporaries and the culture of his times,and this Society remains a vehicle for presenting much of this research.

I joined the Society in 1967, following a visit to the Elgar Birthplace, whereI was immediately befriended by the then curator, Alan Webb, and his wife,Joan. It was he who persuaded me to persevere in my youthful efforts togain an understanding of The Dream of Gerontius and to join the Society.Its expansion into an international organisation is well documented here,but what is important is that Alan’s initial hand of friendship remains acornerstone of this Society without interfering with its wider role ofproselytising Elgar’s life and music. As I look back on many visits to theBirthplace and long conversations in the garden, visits to Three Choirs’Festivals, London Branch meetings and journeys to distant places to hearrarely performed works of Elgar, I am grateful for the many friendships Ihave made over the years. Many of these have lasted since the time I firstwandered the lanes of Worcestershire in search of Elgar’s original home.

Since then, the Birthplace has changed radically. I hope, though, that theinitial peace and atmosphere I found there, which induced those earlyfriendships, remains in some part, and that this Society, which has likewisechanged, will remain true to those roots and to the vision of those whoformed it. Elgar remains under-appreciated in many countries, whichshould know better, and the Society will continue to play its part in alteringmisconceptions about him and his music. I hope also it will continue to bea source of friendship to all those who join during the next fifty years andbeyond. May this volume remind those of us who are members of what wehave achieved and what more we can do.

Andrew Neill

Half-Century2

Introduction

The story of the first fifty years of the Elgar Society is one of undoubtedsuccess. Membership has widened from a few hundred to over 1,500members at home and abroad; the Society is by far the largest composersociety in Britain. A prodigious amount of scholarship and research hasbeen fostered and recorded through the Elgar Society JOURNAL andvarious publications. Elgar’s music, particularly the once neglected works,has been advanced through the promotion of recordings and concerts.Branch meetings have provided a regular opportunity across the countryfor lovers of Elgar’s music to have their knowledge, appreciation andenjoyment enhanced.

This level of interest was far from the picture at the inception of the Society.In March 1934, the month after Elgar’s death, his biographer, Basil Maine,had suggested the formation of an Elgar Society, but the musical climatewas not auspicious. Notwithstanding the reaction against Elgar’s music inthe 1930s and 1940s, there was sufficient enthusiasm on his home territoryin the post-war years to organise a number of Elgar Festivals at Malvern.This prompted the suggestion that an Elgar Society ought to be formed. Anumber of enthusiasts met in the town in 1950 to investigate this idea, andon 29 January 1951 the first formal meeting was held. From acomparatively small band of people who met once or twice a year, the ElgarSociety has grown into a large organisation with members across Britainand around the world. It is difficult for younger people to apprehend howmuch the musical climate for Elgar has changed in the last fifty years. Hisworks now appear regularly in concert programmes, and all his significantoutput has been recorded, many works many times over. The flow of booksand papers on Elgar appears unceasing. This remarkable change is surelydue in some measure to the efforts of the Elgar Society. The purpose of thisdocument is to celebrate the Elgar Society’s Golden Jubilee by reviewing itsactivities and achievements.


1. The Early Yearsby Frank Greatwich

Frank Greatwich (1906-2000) was Honorary Secretary of the Society, 1970-72, andVice-Chairman, 1972-75 and 1976-78; he was an Honorary Member of the ElgarSociety. This article first appeared in the Elgar Society JOURNAL, May 1981.

To set the scene, one must recall the Malvern of the pre-Second World Waryears when the town established, over a decade, a world-wide reputation forits annual drama festival. George Bernard Shaw, at the height of his fame,bestrode the event as its patron saint, and wrote a number of plays speciallyfor it. J B Priestley was almost as closely associated with the festival, andto the gatherings of other foremost figures in the world of literature and thestage, Elgar, in the last few years of his life, added his commandingpresence from the world of music.

Music was never as important a part of the Malvern Festival as it was tobecome in the later festivals, such as Edinburgh, but when, after theinterruption of the war, efforts to revive the drama festival failed, Elgar’spast association with the event prompted the idea of an Elgar Festival,which was duly held in 1947 under the direction of another Worcestershirecomposer, Julius Harrison.

The Liverpool Symphony Orchestra (under four conductors - BasilCameron, Clarence Raybould, Harold Gray and Julius Harrison) playedFroissart, the Enigma Variations and the A Flat Symphony; AstraDesmond, Parry Jones and Henry Cummings sang in The Dream ofGerontius (in Malvern Priory); and Thomas Matthews played the ViolinConcerto and Anthony Pini the ‘Cello Concerto. Of the performance of TheDream, a certain ‘ATS’, writing the notices for the local newspapers (whichhe did for more than half a century) commented: ‘With many recollectionsof past performances in other places, I have no hesitation in saying that thiswas easily the greatest reading of the work I have heard since thecomposer’s death in 1934’.

There were the usual accompaniments of a successful festival in the way oftalks and social events, but financially the result was not such as to inspirethe organisers to begin immediately planning a festival for the followingyear. In fact, it was not until 1950 that the impetus was regained, largelydue to a group of Elgar enthusiasts, including a number from what becamethe Royal Signals and Radar Establishment, of whom Spencer Noble (1910-1997) was one of the foremost.

It was at this time that Bertie Shaw and I became closely associated withthe two following festivals, in 1950 and 1951, out of which the Elgar Societywas to emerge. No doubt we were a little critical of the inertia of Elgar Fest-ivals Ltd, the company which came into being to sponsor the 1947 festival,and before we knew it the traditional British formula for solving suchproblems had been applied - that is to say, the critics were promptly saddledwith the job! Bertie Shaw was already chairman of the Festival Committee,and he and I and Dorothy Bell (later to be the first secretary of the ElgarSociety) were elected directors of the company, Bertie as Chairman.

Putting on an Elgar Festival was no daunting problem in a place likeMalvern, with a good deal of know-how from long experience with festivals.Paying for it was another matter, in times when most of the 1,000 seatsavailable had to be sold at 7s 6d and 5s, and the Arts Council could run toa grant of only £100. The solution was a guarantee fund, the newspaperswith which I was associated putting up £250 towards the £1,000 target,which we reached without difficulty.

The festival was musically a great success, and one writer, posing therhetorical question of what had given most pleasure, said the ready answerwas ‘the chance to hear a number of Elgar works recreated in his owncountry by his foremost living exponent’. He was alluding to Sir AdrianBoult, conducting the London Symphony Orchestra in the EnigmaVariations, Falstaff, the ‘Cello Concerto, In the South and the Introductionand Allegro for Strings. And it was Sir Adrian who gave the idea of foundingan Elgar Society, which had been simmering in some of our minds, adecisive step forward. The writer referred to above, the late Hugh Ottaway,had concluded a notice: ‘What of the future? The Malvern Elgar Festival, asan annual or biennial event, has a definite place in English musical life. Allwho are sensitive to the pull of places will know the benefit of studying aman’s work in his own country. This is particularly valuable in Elgar’s case,for his music is tinged with so many local references and associations. Hetranscended his native heath, becoming at heart the “gentleman ofWorcestershire”. The formation of an Elgar Society will be a great stepforward. One envisages such a body not only as a means of securing aregular festival, but also a patron of Elgar research. A really active societycould do much to promote that positive revaluation of the composer’sworks which is undoubtedly due.’

The ‘positive revaluation’ was still some way off, but we like to think thatthe festivals and the Society had something to do with it when it did comeabout. What the 1950 festival did was to bring to a focal point our thoughtson founding an Elgar Society. We were given much encouragement by SirAdrian and, soon after the festival in September, a provisional committeewas appointed to draft a constitution for submission to a general meetingto bring the Society into existence. This meeting was held on 29 January

Half-Century4

1951. The recommendation of the provisional committee was discussedand (say the minutes) ‘after discussion it was proposed by Mr A T Shaw,seconded by Mr F B Greatwich, that this Society should be formed tohonour the memory of Sir Edward Elgar’, and a further motion, by MrsShaw, seconded by Mrs Gertrude Mitchell (a director of Elgar FestivalsLtd), named it ‘The Elgar Society’.

The provisional committee consisted of Mr John Tompkins (chairman),Mrs Cartland (mother of Barbara Cartland, the novelist), Mrs A T Shaw,Miss Joyce King (editor of the Malvern Gazette), Mr Spencer Noble, MrWyndham Croome, Mr Durham Holl (Priory organist), with Mr Reg Marsh(who was secretary of Elgar Festivals Ltd) as secretary. They did their workso well that their recommendations went through practically unaltered. Thecategories of membership and subscriptions make interesting reading now:Adult membership 5s; Junior membership (under 18) 1s; Familymembership 10s 6d; Life membership £5 5s; Corporate membership 10s6d. The newspaper account of this meeting records that Sir Adrian Boultwas elected President and Mr John Tompkins the Society’s first chairman.With prophetic words he said that ‘While the Society’s home for the momentis in Malvern, it is hoped that the Society will develop on a national basis’.

The first committee consisted of the provisional committee with theaddition of Miss V Cooke, Miss K Pearn, Dr R A Smith, Mr (now Sir) DavidWillcocks, Bertie Shaw and myself. The Society was seen in those early daysas having the primary duty of keeping the Elgar Festivals in Malvern alive,in a supporting role to Elgar Festivals Ltd and the Festival Committee, andit was first thought advisable for these organisations to be kept separateand distinct. But this proved hardly practicable, with so many of us wearingdifferent hats at various meetings, so that when, after a year, JohnTompkins had to withdraw for business reasons, the direction of all threebodies passed to Bertie Shaw as chairman and he remained chairman ofthe Elgar Society for the next quarter of a century.

One of his first duties was to tell members that even after another guaranteeof £1,000 - raised like that of the previous year - had been taken intoaccount, a deficit of £500 still remained on the 1951 Festival, and that nofurther festival could be contemplated until that debt was discharged.Eventually this was achieved, mainly through the efforts of the Society, butlack of sponsorship, and the meagre returns which were available evenfrom full houses at seat prices ruling at the time, precluded any furtherfestivals in the foreseeable future.

The Society’s ties with Malvern, despite the lack of a festival connection,remained close over the following years, and most meetings were heldthere. Some members today, when the Society has many branches anddemonstrably a national outlook, may wonder at the continued regional


slant of the Society for the first fifteen or twenty years of its existence, butit was natural that the keenest interest should be displayed by the people ofthe area of Elgar’s birth and upbringing who were steadfast in theirappreciation of his music - possibly, let us admit, out of local pride - beforethe days of its later widespread popularity.

In the 1950s the Society was able to maintain its aims only in a modest way,but from the time of the celebration of the centenary of Elgar’s birth in 1857there was an infusion of new members (68 in 1958). Stanley and WinifredLambert took over the secretaryship in 1959 and for the next eleven yearsserved the Society in that capacity with great zeal and efficiency. Theycapitalised on the increasing interest in Elgar’s music, issued the first news-letters and collaborated closely with Alan Webb when, during the five yearshe was Curator of the Birthplace, he directed many visitors intomembership of the Society.

Alan Webb also became the Society’s secretary for recorded music and wasa valuable link with EMI in the years when the new recordings began to flowand more people became acquainted with Elgar’s works.

Sixty or seventy members a year were joining the Society in the late 1960s,and I note that just short of a hundred members attended the Birthdaycelebration in 1968. With the Society’s fortunes showing an upturn, I tookover the secretaryship from Mr and Mrs Lambert in 1970. Despite anumber of outside distractions the Society was ready for expansion, as wasproved soon afterwards when we launched out with a new policy ofstimulating interest in many areas of the country through autonomousbranches, beginning with the London Branch.

Postscript

The meeting to appoint a provisional committee was held on 5 December1950 at Warwick House Restaurant, Malvern. Miss Kathleen Pearn fromStockport proposed that an Elgar Society be formed; this was secondedby Mr P J McDonald of Malvern. The Malvern Gazette of 8 Decemberreported the meeting under the headline, ‘INAUGURATION OF THEELGAR SOCIETY’, a fact brought to the attention of the Society’s officersin later years by the Society’s Honorary Archivist, Carl Newton. However,on 2 February the Gazette reported the 29 January meeting at theCounty Hotel, Malvern as ‘PROMISING START FOR ELGAR SOCIETY’. Asociety might choose to date its birth from the first public resolution toform it or from the first formally constituted meeting. In stating 1951 asits founding year, the first officers of the Elgar Society clearly opted forthe latter practice and this has been perpetuated.

Half-Century6


2. The 1950s

From the inception of the first regular Elgar Society Newsletter in 1973, the activities ofthe Society were well documented. It is therefore valuable to record here something ofthe earlier years from archive material and members’ memories.

At the time of the Elgar Society’s first formal meeting, Elgar had been deadscarcely 15 years. We could have spoken then to many people who hadknown him well: his daughter, Carice Elgar Blake (d.1970), and nieces,Madge and May Grafton (d.1972 and 1963 respectively); Sir Ivor Atkins(d.1953); Ernest Newman (d.1959); Sir Barry Jackson (d.1961); DoraPowell (‘Dorabella’)(d.1964); Sir Percy Hull (d.1968); and Basil Maine(d.1972). We would have seen a Worcester substantially unaltered sinceElgar’s time, including his last house, Marl Bank, on Rainbow Hill(demolished in 1969), and the old family music shop at 10, High Street(swept away during drastic 1960s redevelopment). However, it was far froma golden age for Elgarians. Few would have been familiar with the pre-1900cantatas and The Light of Life, and gramophone recordings were restrictedto Elgar’s major works. A modern biographical reassessment was overdue.

The 1950s perpetuated the lack of public enthusiasm for Elgar’s music -indeed, a reaction against it - shown in the previous two decades, save fora resurgence of interest in 1955 when the first modern biographies byDiana McVeagh and Percy Young appeared to critical acclaim, and in 1957,the centenary year of Elgar’s birth, when there was a celebration of Elgar’smusic in Worcester. This is the period in which the Elgar Society took rootand started to grow. Its members then were certainly keepers of the flame.

The Elgar Society’s debt in these years to A T Shaw, a key founder memberand long-time Chairman, cannot be overstated. Albert Thompson Shaw(1897-1981) was a man of quiet distinction. Bertie Shaw taught art andmusic at Worcester Royal Grammar School from 1928 to 1962. He was alsoorganist and choirmaster of St Leonard’s, Newland for more than 50 years.He conducted the Malvern Orchestral Society in the 1930s. He often sangtenor in the Three Choirs’ Festival Chorus, and edited the Worcester ThreeChoirs’ Festival programme book, providing concert notes for the Festivaland other local music societies. He was perhaps known to most people asperceptive music critic for the Berrow’s Newspaper Group for more than 50years; at a conservative estimate, the initials ATS must have appeared over5,000 times. He was one of the founders of the Worcester Concert Club. Hewas chairman of the Malvern Elgar Festivals in the late 1940s, whichbecame the springboard for the founding of the Elgar Society. His wife,Lydia (1897-1996), actively supported him in his tireless efforts for the

Society, and once stepped into the breach as Honorary Secretary when theincumbent had to retire mid-term from ill health.

A T Shaw was Chairman of the Elgar Society through the 1950s with theexception of the first year, 1951, which was under the chairmanship ofJohn Tompkins. The Honorary Secretary was Miss Dorothy Bell, who in1954 became Mrs Norman Maisey. From the start, the Manager of Lloyd’sBank, Malvern, acted as Honorary Treasurer, a practice continued until theearly 1970s.

The 1950s were years when members came together perhaps two or threetimes a year, usually in Worcester or Malvern, where the core of themembership resided. Some members travelled considerable distances tomeetings. Meetings were occasionally held in other parts of the country - inOctober 1953, the Society promoted a concert at the Pump Room inTunbridge Wells at which Elgar’s daughter, Mrs Elgar Blake, spoke abouther father. The Mount Pleasant Hotel in Malvern was often chosen forannual general meetings, held in March, not near Elgar’s birthday on 2June, as was later adopted. On Elgar’s birthday, A T Shaw would lay awreath on Elgar’s grave, and there would be a commemoration concert,often at Hartlebury Castle; Elgar’s Violin Sonata or String Quartet wouldoften be played. Tea would be arranged for members during a Worcestermeeting of the Three Choirs’ Festival.

An impression of the Elgar Society during the 1950s can be gauged fromthe following extracts from the Minutes of the Committee.

6 March 1951. The Chairman reported that Sir Adrian Boult,Admiral Sir William Tennant (Lord-Lieutenant of Worcestershire),Sir Ivor Atkins, Julius Harrison, Sir Percy Hull and Dr R VaughanWilliams, had accepted invitations to be Vice-Presidents of theSociety.

23 April 1951. The Chairman reported that Mrs Elgar Blake hadaccepted the Committee’s invitation to be an Honorary Member of theSociety. (She was elected a Vice-President shortly before her death in1970.)

(In May, Sir Adrian Boult broadcasted on the BBC General OverseasService a memorable portrait, As I Knew Him: Sir Edward Elgar. This wasincluded on the Elgar Society’s second LP record.)

14 June 1951. The Secretary reported that there were 193 adultmembers, 2 junior members, 27 family members and 8 lifemembers.

Half-Century8

The Committee must have been pleased that the Worcester Three ChoirsFestival during the first year of the Elgar Society featured The Kingdom, theViolin Concerto, the Second Symphony and The Dream of Gerontius.

13 November 1951. The Secretary read a letter from Mr StanleyThompson of Sheffield, in which he said that a group of people inSheffield wished to form a branch. The Committee received this newswarmly.

Following an initial meeting in October 1951, a separate Sheffield & DistrictElgar Society was set up and continued in existence till 1983. Mrs ElgarBlake was its President; Sir John Barbirolli was a Vice-President. (That ‘JB’was never invited to become a Vice-President of the national society seemsinexcusable.) A Short History of the Sheffield & District Elgar Society by ED Mackerness is deposited in the Local Studies Library (ref. 780.65) ofSheffield Archives Office.

20 January 1954. The Committee agreed to send a wreath to thefuneral of Sir Ivor Atkins.

October 1954. Sir Adrian Boult agreed to give a talk to the Society inJune 1955.

18 April 1955. It was resolved that 500 copies of a talk to the Societyon Elgar by Diana McVeagh be printed and circulated to members. Itwas agreed that the pamphlet contain an advertisement for MissMcVeagh’s new book on Elgar.

30 November 1955. It was agreed that Mr Harold Watkins Shaw andDr Percy Young be invited to talk to the Society. (Dr Young spoke on‘The Unknown Elgar’ in February 1956.)

6 February 1956. The Chairman reported that the Elgar Society hadbeen invited to send representatives to assist in civic arrangementsfor the Elgar Centenary in Worcester in 1957.

At this point, it is appropriate to review some of the special events of 1957.Even though comparatively little was known of Elgar and his music duringthe 1950s, the hundredth anniversary of his birth could not pass unmarked.

On 11 February the composer and Elgar Society Vice-President, JuliusHarrison, gave an address to the Elgar Society in Malvern, entitled ‘Elgar,Master of the Orchestra’. This was published for the Elgar Society by Berrow’sNewspapers Ltd. Sir Arthur Bliss also spoke to the Society at WorcesterGuildhall, where Elgar had received the Freedom of the City in 1905.


During the course of the year, the Elgar Society made a donation to MalvernMusical Society to help them put on a performance of The Kingdom atMalvern Priory. The chorus, soloists and City of Birmingham SymphonyOrchestra were conducted by Leonard Blake, Director of Music at MalvernCollege. The Society also supported a BBC chamber concert.

On Sunday 2 June there was a broadcast Elgar Centenary Service atWorcester Cathedral. In his address, the Bishop of Worcester, The Rt RevL M Charles-Edwards, referred to the fact that the service of a RomanCatholic was taking place in an Anglican cathedral. The Cathedral’sfoundation, he said, went far back into history to ‘those days when our sinsand selfishness had not divided us’. A T Shaw later wrote that Elgar’smusic at the service was most impressive, the performers seemingly highlyconscious of the solemnity and significance of the occasion. DavidWillcocks played the first movement of Elgar’s G Major Organ Sonata andconducted performances of the Prologue to The Apostles, ‘Nimrod’ from theEnigma Variations and The Angel’s Farewell from The Dream ofGerontius, sung with memorable emotion by Norma Proctor. For this lastitem, the conductor used the autograph full score, lent specially for theoccasion by the Birmingham Oratory. In the Worcester Festival Chorus wasa man whose father and grandfather sang in the first performance of thework in Birmingham Town Hall in 1900. But there were older connectionspresent at the service. Among the large congregation was 82-year-old MissKatherine Lechmere who, when a child of nine at Rhydd Court nearMalvern, was taught the violin by Elgar; he had walked miles to give thelesson for 5 shillings and a glass of sherry.

At Elgar’s Birthplace that day, some fifty visitors came, including membersof the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and a BBC television team. JohnDrew, who was the first visitor, recorded his memories for posterity (ElgarSociety JOURNAL, January 1984). The Curators at this time were Mr andMrs John Goodman, selected by Mrs Elgar Blake in the 1930s. HerbertHowells (d.1983), one of the Trustees of the Elgar Birthplace, wrote anappreciation of the composer for the local press. ‘We, who are of Elgar’sown shires, are not meanly parochial if we claim a special and privilegedapproach to his music, nor unreasonable if we say the world’s famousconcert halls cannot rival the image of the three cathedrals. We are notstubbornly in error if we feel that The Dream of Gerontius heard in asecular hall is a masterpiece encountered in exile.’

At the Malvern Winter Gardens on 11 June, after months of strenuousrehearsals, 140 girls of Lawnside School presented The Wand of Youth, afairy play written by the school’s Headmistress, Miss Winifred Barrows,around the story of Elgar’s orchestral suite of that name. Elgar’s music wasplayed by the Albert Webb Orchestra, directed by David Willcocks, who had

Half-Century10

been school choirmaster since becoming organist at Worcester Cathedral.Miss Barrows (d.1974) had produced the play in shorter form at Lawnsidein 1930 with Elgar’s permission, although Elgar was unable to attend. Afterthe 1957 performance, the proceeds of which were donated to the ElgarBirthplace Trust, Julius Harrison said to Mrs Elgar Blake, ‘Your fatherwould have enjoyed it all.’ Lawnside had already paid its respects to its oldfriend: a wreath of golden roses had been left on Elgar’s grave since 2 Junewith the inscription ‘in proud remembrance of our great Sir Edward Elgar’.

On 5 September at the Three Choirs’ Festival, happily in Worcester (as itwas in 1984, the fiftieth anniversary of Elgar’s death), a performance wasgiven in the Cathedral of The Dream of Gerontius by the London SymphonyOrchestra, conducted by David Willcocks. Gerontius was sung by WilliamHerbert, John Cameron sang the parts of the Priest and the Angel of theAgony, and Norma Procter sang the Angel. Sir Percy Hull conducted theEnigma Variations, Melville Cook conducted the Introduction and Allegrofor Strings, and Harold Darke played the G Major Organ Sonata.

A performance of Elgar’s First Symphony, conducted by Sir MalcolmSargent, took place in Worcester Cathedral on 1 November, and wasbroadcast by the BBC. Sir Malcolm recorded an interval talk on bothElgar’s symphonies; Elgar’s music, he said, ‘speaks to us of aspirations,beliefs, human nature at its most sorrowful or at its heights of heroism. Heexpresses emotions which will be ever present in the best of us, and hismusic will never die’. It is pertinent to recall Elgar’s observation to DrHerbert Sumsion that, of all the young conductors, it was Sargent who inperformances of his works came closest to his ideal. Sir Malcolm hadrecorded his memories of Elgar in Music & Musicians in June; these arereprinted in An Elgar Companion, edited by Christopher Redwood(Sequoia and Moorland Publishing, 1982). It is sad that this devotedElgarian was never made a Vice-President of the Elgar Society.

During the year, Mrs Carice Elgar Blake and Mrs Richard Powell(‘Dorabella’ of Elgar’s Enigma Variations) were interviewed on the radio.Elgar’s daughter spoke of the telepathic understanding that developedbetween her and her father in the years after her mother’s death. AlecRobertson wrote and narrated a radio documentary programme, FifteenthVariation, in which he interviewed friends of Elgar, such as Sir Percy Hulland Sir Barry Jackson.

1958 saw the death of the grand old man of British music, Dr RalphVaughan Williams. RVW had publicly stated how much he and othercomposers of his generation had learned from Elgar in their youth, and hehad agreed to be one of the first Vice-Presidents of the Elgar Society.


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The Minutes of the Committee for this year bring the first mention of thegood work Alan Webb did to press for more recorded music. Alan Webb(1900-1992) was the son of a Worcester businessman and amateurmusician, Frank Webb (1866-1951), who played chamber music with Elgarin the early days and to whom Elgar dedicated the short piece for violin andpiano, Virelai. Through his father’s connection, Alan Webb and his wife,Joan, were invited to spend an evening with Elgar at Marl Bank in 1931,listening to Elgar’s gramophone records. Alan was a tremendous Elgarenthusiast and has left us a vivid description of this evening (Elgar SocietyJOURNAL, May 1983). He was Curator of the Elgar Birthplace Museumfrom 1966 to 1972 after a career in teaching modern languages.

4 March 1958. The Secretary reported a letter from Mr Alan Webb,suggesting that the Elgar Society try to persuade gramophonecompanies to make new recordings of Elgar’s music.

13 February 1959. The Treasurer reported that he had paid 10guineas to the Elgar Bust Appeal in Malvern.

Thus draw the 1950s to a close with a hint of the rejuvenation of Elgar’spopularity in the years to come.


3. The 1960s and Early 1970s

A T Shaw remained Chairman of the Elgar Society through the 1960s up tothe mid 1970s. The joint Honorary Secretaries for no less than eleven yearsduring this period were Stanley and Winifred Lambert. Their unfailingcourtesy and warmth are remembered by all who belonged to the Society atthis time. Outside the Elgar Society, they were well known in the Worcester-Malvern area as supporters of the arts in general, like the Shaws. StanleyLambert (d.1978) was a working owner of the organ-builder, Nicholson andCompany, and was organist at St George’s Roman Catholic Church inWorcester for many years. In 1970 he supervised the renovation andenlargement of the organ at St George’s, upon which Elgar had worked outthe registration for his Vesper Voluntaries. Winifred Lambert did valuablebook conservation work at the Elgar Birthplace.

The pattern of events in the 1950s was largely repeated in the followingdecade. However, although there was still no regular newsletter, memberswere kept in touch by occasional news sheets: Elgar concerts werepublicised, the Lamberts often arranging tickets; Alan Webb would reviewrecent Elgar records with a few well-chosen words; Birthplace news wouldbe included. We continue reference to the Elgar Society Committee MinuteBook where it makes a second reference to the Malvern Elgar Bust.

14 February 1961. The Chairman reported that representatives ofthe Society had attended the unveiling of the bronze Elgar Bust by SirSteuart Wilson in Priory Park at the invitation of Malvern UrbanDistrict Council. (The bust was sculpted by Hilary Carruthers, wife ofthe first principal of the Yehudi Menuhin School, and the WestMidlands Branch of the Elgar Society prompted Malvern HillsDistrict Council to place an information plaque on the plinth in1995.) The Chairman also reported a broadcast on 27 October 1960by Julius Harrison on his personal reminiscences of Elgar; the BBChad given permission for the manuscript to be copied for members.

27 November 1961. The Secretary reported that he had received onthe Society’s behalf certain articles that belonged to the late Sir BarryJackson: a wooden cigarette box with music on the lid, that Elgar hadgiven Sir Barry; a gun-metal cigar case used by Elgar, given on hisdeath to H Scott Sunderland by Mrs Elgar Blake; Elgar’s opera cloakgiven to Sir Barry; and an unidentified academic cap and hood ofElgar, given to Sir Barry. It was resolved to offer these items to theElgar Birthplace Trust. (Scott Sunderland was an actor friend of SirBarry Jackson, and had visited Elgar at Marl Bank with him.)

9 May 1963. The Chairman reported an offer from the BBC to loanfor the AGM a film of a TV programme on the life of Elgar. It wasagreed that A T Shaw and H Watkins Shaw form a sub-committee to‘try to bring pressure to bear on EMI to revive old recordings andexplore the possibility of getting some other company to make a discof smaller works’. It was agreed that Yehudi Menuhin, together withH Sumsion, E Bradbury and Lord Cobham, be invited to becomeVice-Presidents. (There is no record of Ernest Bradbury, theYorkshire music critic, becoming a Vice-President.)

The reference in the Minutes to a BBC film is Ken Russell’s celebrated 1962documentary film on Elgar, which was first shown on the BBC’s televisionarts programme, Monitor; this is generally credited with starting thepopular revival of interest in the composer. Director Ken Russell was theinspired driving force behind the project, although much credit is also dueto scriptwriter Huw Wheldon, film editor Allan Tyrer and cameraman KenHiggins. Huw Wheldon later wrote: ‘We made our Monitor film about Elgarbecause we thought his music was being underestimated and carelesslydismissed as dated; and because his music is complex, rich, ebullient andsad, as was his life’.

The Worcestershire sequences were shot in high summer during the lasthalf of August. Assistance was given by a large number of local people,including Councillor John Tompkins, the Elgar Society’s first Chairman.Anne James, secretary to the film’s editor, told the Malvern Gazette thatshe was specially grateful to the staff of Malvern Telephone Exchange for theexpeditious manner in which they handled many telephone calls. A man inBarnard’s Green lent donkeys; the assistant district scout commissionerorganised Elgar’s bell tent at Forli, Elgar’s one-time home at Malvern Link;Lord Beauchamp gave permission for filming on the Madresfield estate; MrRoberts, the Malvern Hills Ranger, advised on the hills scenes; a vintageAlvis car was provided and driven by Jim Wallace, who lived at NapletonGrange, another Elgar house by Kempsey; Mrs Elgar Blake and MrsGoodman facilitated the scenes at Elgar’s Birthplace. Sequences at theformer County Asylum at Powick were particularly interesting, as some ofElgar’s early music for the Staff Band was copied from the hospitalarchives, so that it could feature in the film. (Powick Hospital closed in1986 and was demolished for housing in the 1990s, despite protests fromthe Elgar Society and others, concerning the listed ballroom.) The sceneshowing Elgar and his dogs outside his last home in Worcester, Marl Bank,is poignant in view of the house’s demolition seven years later.

One young person played an unexpected part in the making of the film. Thefilm crew had gone for refreshment into The Wellington Inn near Colwalland asked if anyone knew where they could get a lad to ride a pony in theirfilm as the young Elgar, and where they could borrow some dogs to represent

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Elgar’s beloved companions in his old age. They were put in touch with MrsNoble at nearby Ockeridge Farm; her family could supply both theirrequirements (although the dogs were not the right ones!). The image ofyoung Bill Noble astride his pony on the top of the Malvern Hills, silhouettedagainst a setting sun, remains indelibly fixed in the minds of all who haveseen the film. (Bill was no casual horse-rider: he went on to the SpanishRiding School in Vienna, and later emigrated to work with horses.) There arevarious inaccuracies throughout the film, but these do not seem to matter, souncannily successful is it in capturing the essence of Elgar’s life and the spiritof his music. It undoubtedly created many Elgar enthusiasts, although therewas no surge in Elgar Society membership: that had to wait till the followingdecade.

One episode in 1963 illustrates the uphill task of the Society in the earlyyears. David McBrien recalls:-

In February 1963, the Gramophone magazine published an article byTrevor Harvey entitled, ‘A Society Has Been Formed’. He told ofreceiving two letters, one asking him to help set up a Peter Warlocksociety, and the other asking what could be done about the disgracefullack of good recordings of the music of Elgar. It was indeed a grimtime for lovers of Elgar’s music. Most of the mono recordings hadbeen deleted from the catalogues in the wake of the introduction ofstereo in 1958 and, as Trevor Harvey pointed out, there had been noissue of a major work by Elgar, the Enigma Variations excepted, since1958. Harvey urged readers to pressure the record companies torectify this situation. Vaughan Williams, Holst, Delius and evenWarlock had been treated much more favourably in comparison. Thisarticle provoked a lively correspondence stretching over the next ninemonths. Various people called for a British Music Society (and onewas discovered in Canada). It wasn’t until September that A T Shawwrote, as Chairman of the Elgar Society, pointing out that it existed,had been formed in 1951, was still active and giving the name andaddress of the Joint Honorary Secretary, Mrs S E Lambert, for furtherenquiries.

During the 1960s the old fabric of Elgar’s city came under post-war assault.By 1965 the outlook from the north-east corner of Worcester Cathedral waschanged beyond recognition in order to construct the Lychgate ShoppingCentre. Gone were the Punchbowl Inn, the Cathedral’s unique Lich Gate, StMichael’s Church (fortunately redundant), Lich Street itself and a number ofhouses at the narrow south end of High Street, including the former ElgarBrothers’ music shop. 10 High Street had remained a shoe shop since theElgars’ music business closed around the time of the death of Elgar’s brother,Frank, in 1928, when the shop was taken over by Mr T A Collins. (SomeWorcester people think they remember the Elgar music shop in the 1950s,


but what they recall is Spark’s at 12 High Street.) In 1964 two other Elgarhouses were demolished in housing developments: Battenhall Manor inWorcester and Tiddington House near Stratford-upon-Avon.

The Committee Minutes for 1964 raise the issue of the condition of Elgar’sgrave, which was to recur in future years.

5 May 1964. The Chairman reported that Alan Webb had suggestedthe possibility of forming a record library and drew attention to thescarred condition of Elgar’s grave. Miss Howell reported that thegrave had been disfigured by scratches and chalk marks. It wasagreed to ask the Treasurer for money to purchase Elgar records thatwere to be deleted.

18 September 1964. A letter from Mrs Elgar Blake had been received,asking if it would be possible for the Committee to undertake the careof the Elgar grave. Mrs Elgar Blake offered to bear any expenses.

12 May 1965. Alan Webb was appointed Secretary for RecordedMusic. He stated that he had received a letter from the World RecordClub, saying they wanted to record The Kingdom, but it would costat least £10,000, and they could not contemplate it unless they hadsupport from the British Council and the Vaughan Williams Trust.

18 January 1966. Alan Webb reported that the Waverley record ofsolo songs was now available and was, on the whole, recommended.He had been advised by EMI that they hoped to bring out an LP ofEnglish choral music, to include some Elgar part songs. They hadinvited suggestions, and Alan Webb had sent a list. EMI were alsoexploring the possibility of recording The Kingdom.

10 February 1967. It was agreed to have duplicated a list of houseswhere Elgar lived and worked, and some works composed in them.(This was subsequently compiled by Alan Webb, together with abibliography.) Alan Webb suggested a plaque be erected at the site of10 High Street, Worcester. Frank Greatwich said he would makeenquiries. (Mr Geoffrey Dorrell of Russell & Dorrell’s wassubsequently receptive to the idea; this led, largely through FrankGreatwich’s endeavours, to the erection of a plaque on one end of thestore in 1972.)

(At the AGM in March 1967, the distinguished writer on music, FrankHowes, spoke on ‘Elgar Today’.)

26 February 1968. The Chairman reported that the Elgar bust hadbeen stolen from Priory Park and subsequently found. (This wouldhappen again in 30 years’ time! The bust is now kept inside at the

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Winter Gardens.) Malvern Council had asked if the Society wouldcontribute to the cost of re-siting; a cheque for £5 was subsequentlysent. Alan Webb reported that EMI said that priority would be givento the recording of The Kingdom. Sir Adrian Boult had told him thatanother company had asked him to do both symphonies. It wassuggested that the Chairman write to The Times about the proposeddemolition of Marl Bank.

(At the AGM in March 1968, Professor Ian Parrott spoke on ‘The Enigma:a New Slant’.)

Marl Bank on Worcester’s Rainbow Hill was Elgar’s last home, an imposinghouse with a large garden and historical significance as the site of theParliamentarian headquarters during the Battle of Worcester; here, in1648, the last force to uphold the King’s cause surrendered. After Elgar’sdeath, Marl Bank passed through a number of owners. Part of the gardenwas sold off for housing as early as the late 1930s. In the mid 1950s, it wasowned by the YMCA, who tried without success to convert it into a hostel.The gracious old house was not properly maintained, and its poor generalcondition in the 1960s seems to have been a significant factor indetermining its fate: it was demolished for flats in 1969. Victor Cornick ofStratford-upon-Avon sent a telegram to the Queen: ‘Demolition of SirEdward Elgar’s house, Marl Bank, Rainbow Hill, Worcester, commencedtoday. Implore you intervene to save this national inheritance.’ There wasno intervention, royal or otherwise. Mr Cornick managed to rescue Elgar’sthatched summerhouse and, after his death in 1981, his widow presentedit to the Elgar Birthplace.

9 January 1969. The Chairman reported that Professor Ian Parrottwas preparing a new book on Elgar. (The previous year had seen thepublication of Michael Kennedy’s seminal Portrait of Elgar, whichwas later described by composer Hugh Wood as the greatest musicalbiography.) The Secretary reported that most new members wereintroduced through Alan Webb at the Elgar Birthplace.

On 16 July 1970 Mrs Carice Elgar Blake, Elgar’s only child and a Vice-President of the Elgar Society, died at the age of 79 after a brief illness in anursing home at Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol. For many years, she had livedat Woodend, opposite Elgar’s Birthplace at Broadheath, which she had setup as a museum after it was bought by the City of Worcester followingElgar’s death in 1934. She was devoted to her father’s memory and hadtaken a great interest in the Birthplace for the rest of her life. She wasburied next to her parents’ grave at St Wulstan’s, Little Malvern.

One of two significant achievements of the Elgar Society at the end of thefirst two decades of its history was the Elgar Memorial Stone in


Westminster Abbey. The location was the North Choir Aisle, near thememorials to Purcell and Vaughan Williams. Designed by S E Dykes Bower,Surveyor of the Fabric of Westminster Abbey, the stone was formallyunveiled on 1 June 1972 by the Prime Minister, Edward Heath, as theclimax of a dedication service. Dr Douglas Guest, Abbey Organist, playedElgar’s Organ Sonata in G before the service. (Douglas Guest was formerlyat Worcester Cathedral and became Chairman of the Elgar Society in 1976.)Sir Arthur Bliss, Master of the Queen’s Music, read the lesson, ‘Let us nowpraise famous men ...’. While the Elegy for Strings was played, A T Shaw,Chairman, and Frank Greatwich, Vice-Chairman, joined the Dean, Dr EricAbbott, in a procession to the North Choir Aisle. Mr Heath unveiled thediamond-shaped stone, and Sir Adrian Boult, President of the ElgarSociety, laid a laurel wreath. Viscount Cobham, Lord-Lieutenant ofWorcestershire and a Vice-President of the Elgar Society, was among thosepresent. In the first edition of Music and Letters in 1920, George BernardShaw had asserted with customary flamboyance that Elgar was destined forWestminster Abbey. Now, 38 years after Elgar’s simple burial at LittleMalvern, Shaw’s prognostication had come partially true.

The Elgar Memorial Stone was thanks largely to Frank Greatwich (1906-2000), who was Honorary Secretary at the time. Frank’s involvement withthe Society went back to its very beginnings. A newspaper man all hisprofessional life, he was Editor for 28 years of The Berrow’s Journal,Worcester’s weekly newspaper with the distinction of being the oldestnewspaper in the world, and ultimately rose to become Editor-in-Chief ofthe Berrow’s group of publications.

The other significant achievement of the Elgar Society at this time wasallowing for its later growth through the establishment of regional branches.Founder-members A T Shaw and Frank Greatwich were largely the architectsof this expansion, which is covered in a later chapter.

In 1972 EMI released the Elgar-conducted electrical recordings of hisworks on LP records. This refocused public attention on Elgar’s skill, somewould even claim supremacy, at conducting his own works.

In 1973 Wulstan Atkins, Joint Secretary and Treasurer of the Elgar Society,established the Society’s first regular newsletter, thus preparing the groundfor Ronald Taylor’s editorship four years later. This put documentation of theSociety’s activities and scholarship on a firm footing, and renders furtherdetailed review of the Society’s events unnecessary.

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1 (above) : Miss Kathleen Pearn, A T Shaw and J V H Tompkins, publicmeeting in Malvern on 5 December 1950. Miss Pearn, who had travelled fromStockport, proposed the formation of an Elgar Society at the meeting. JohnTompkins chaired a provisional committee and, at the first formal meeting on

29 January 1951,became the ElgarSociety's firstChairman. A T Shawwas present asChairman of ElgarFestivals Ltd andsucceeded JohnTompkins as Chair-man of the ElgarSociety in 1952.

(courtesy of theMalvern Gazette)

2 (left) : A T Shaw(Chairman) andProfessor Ian Parrott(Vice-President) atA T Shaw's Worcesterhome, 1971. A TShaw was anaccomplished artistas well as musician:his painting of aPennine peak hangson the wall.

(courtesy of Berrows

Newspapers)

3 & 4 : Frank Greatwich (Vice-Chairman), A T Shaw (Chairman), Sir ArthurBliss (Master of the Queen's Musick), The Rt Hon. Edward Heath (PrimeMinister) and Sir Adrian Boult (President) at the unveiling (below) of theElgar Memorial Stone (above), Westminster Abbey, on 1 June 1972.

(both photographs courtesy of the Worcester Evening News)

5 (above) : Alan and Joan Webb, Elgar's Birthplace, 1972. Alan Webb wasBirthplace Curator from 1966 to 1972. (the late Michael Dowty)

6 (below) : West Midlands Branch tree planting on the Malvern Hills at the oldWest Malvern Quarry, January 1974. Frank Greatwich, Jack McKenzie,Stanley Lambert, Eleanor Noble, Martin Passande (foreground), WinifredLambert, T A Picton (Vice-Chairman, Malvern Hills Conservators), T W Roberts(Chief Ranger), Councillor Reg Green (Chairman, Malvern Hills Conservators)and A T Shaw (Elgar Society and West Midlands Branch Chairman).

(the late Michael Dowty)

7 (left) : E W A ('Bill') Jackson,Honorary Secretaryof the Elgar Society,1976-1979, picturedhere with his wifeConnie.

(courtesy ofLindsay Jackson)

8 (below) :Jim Bennett andJack McKenzie, thenpresent and pastCurators of Elgar'sBirthplace, 1984.

(courtesy of Dennis Clark)


4. The United Kingdom Elgar Society

An account of this episode is included since, although the Elgar Society played no activepart, the Society naturally had a keen interest in it and was affected to some extent by itsoutcome. The writer is indebted for information to Raymond Monk, Senior Trustee of theElgar Birthplace and Honorary Member of the Elgar Society.

A certain amount of confusion has always existed among members of thepublic over the fact that the Elgar Birthplace is administered by the ElgarBirthplace Trust, whilst the Elgar Society is a separate organisation. From1951 to 1983, there was an independent Sheffield & District Elgar Societyto add to the public confusion. Inevitably, there have been suggestions overthe years for a formal linking of the Elgar organisations.

In 1970 the posts of Secretary and Treasurer of the Elgar Birthplace Trustwere filled by Bernard van Dieren, who was also a Trustee. He was the sonof the Dutch-born composer, Bernard van Dieren (1887-1936), a highlyindividual man of wide-ranging culture. Sir Arthur Bliss, a family friend,had introduced him to Elgar’s daughter, Carice Elgar Blake, and this led tohis joining the Trust. Van Dieren sensed that the Elgar Birthplace was notbenefiting from the lack of cohesion between the Elgar organisations, andproposed a United Kingdom Elgar Society as a sort of over-arching bodywith himself as administrator. He did not consult the Elgar Society. Hepublished a prospectus, which stated that the proposal came from theElgar Birthplace Trust ‘for the purpose of maintaining in perpetuity thehistoric Birthplace of Sir Edward at Broadheath’, and gave a list of patronsthat included the Prime Minister (Edward Heath), Clifford Curzon, ColinDavis, Charles Groves and Yehudi Menuhin.

The prospectus gave the annual fee as £2 and stated that the funds accruingwould be devoted to:-

a. The completion of the current appeal for funds to maintain andpreserve the Birthplace of Sir Edward Elgar in perpetuity, as acentre for visitors, scholars and music researchers alike.

b. The establishment of certain awards to be granted annually, ifpossible, to young British musicians for:

1. The further training of a conductor.2. The further training of an instrumentalist.3. The most outstanding and meritorious orchestral,

choral or solo work by a composer.

The awards would be granted by a committee composed of those prominentin the field of music and the arts, and whose names would be announcedfrom year to year.

Members of the new Society would receive a quarterly newsletter, areduction of 25% of the cost of one Elgar LP record per year, a reduction of20% of the cost of an Elgar concert ticket, and a reduction of 33% of theentrance fee to the Elgar Birthplace.

Van Dieren intended that the United Kingdom Elgar Society would beindependent of the Elgar Birthplace Trust, as well as the Elgar Society andthe Sheffield & District Elgar Society, which he offered special corporatemembership. Some Birthplace Trustees were in favour of the new venture,but not all.

A press reception to launch the new society took place on Wednesday 16September 1970 in a side room at the Royal Festival Hall. It is clear thatthe press did not arrive in good time. Elgar Society member David McBrienwent along to discover only he and van Dieren were present: ‘Once hediscovered I was just a member of the public, he did not show muchinterest in me and, since no-one else showed up whilst I sipped my glass ofwine, I beat a hasty retreat’.

Next month, the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Elgar Society, A TShaw and Frank Greatwich, sent out a forthright notice to members.

Members may have seen reference in the Press, or received publicitymatter relating to the foundation of a United Kingdom Elgar Society,and a statement by the general administrator, Mr Bernard vanDieren, that no national society to honour the composer existed.

Our Society, which has been active for 20 years, has a country-widemembership - and, indeed, a number of overseas members - and hasalways regarded itself as a national society.

It has Sir Adrian Boult as its President, and over the years has hadmany persons distinguished in the world of music as Vice-Presidents.It has recruited members from advertising in national magazines.The fact that its meetings have been held primarily in the area whereElgar was born and wrote most of his music is natural. This does notmake it a local society, as claimed by Mr van Dieren.

The Committee of the Society met on 5 October and deplored the launchingof the new society without any steps having been taken to notify or consultthe existing Elgar Society.

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It was also noted, from reports in the Press, that Sir Adrian Boult and SirGerald Nabarro, both Trustees of the Elgar Birthplace, had called upon Mrvan Dieren to retract a statement that the new society had been formedunder the sponsorship of the Elgar Birthplace Trustees.

Van Dieren had indeed received backing from fellow Trustees at a meeting,but Sir Gerald Nabarro (d.1973) insisted that the meeting was not a properone as insufficient notice had been given. Nabarro, the colourful MP forSouth Worcestershire, prevailed on the Patrons of the United KingdomElgar Society to withdraw en masse. The Prime Minister and other patronspublicly terminated their patronage of van Dieren’s venture. Thus, an ideawith merit came to nought.

A rumour began to circulate that van Dieren had absconded with Trustfunds. However, the truth was less scandalous. When Sir Gerald Nabarrobecame a Trustee in 1969, he discovered that some £10,000 wasapparently missing from the Trust. The ‘missing’ money had in fact partlybeen used up in the expenses of a month-long (and unsuccessful) fund-raising tour of the United States made by Carice Elgar Blake, her friendSybil Russell (later Mrs Henry Wohlfeld) and Bernard van Dieren. The resthad disappeared in general, unrecorded Birthplace running costs. Due tonegligence, the authority to use Trust funds for the American tour had notbeen minuted.

Nabarro pressed the matter, consulting a friend at Scotland Yard. However,this was not a case of fraud, but one of incompetence: in addition to thematter of the £10,000, van Dieren had not had an audit at the ElgarBirthplace for three years. Van Dieren could not be pursued for the money,since his personal assets were quite insufficient. Certain Trustees, notablySir Adrian Boult and Sybil Russell, dipped into their own pockets to makeup the deficit. (Mrs Elgar Blake had died in 1970.)

By the next Elgar Society NEWSLETTER, there was more for A T Shaw andFrank Greatwich to relate to members about the position of the Trust.

At a meeting held at the House of Commons on 14 December, Mr vanDieren, who was not present, was relieved of his posts as Secretaryand Treasurer and was asked to resign as a Trustee. Otherresolutions passed by the Trustees concerned the appointment of afirm of accountants to bring the accounts of the Trust up-to-date sothat the financial position can be ascertained ...

The opportunity now presents itself for closer and more fruitful linksto be established between the Elgar Society and the Elgar BirthplaceTrust. As we have a common objective - to honour the memory of SirEdward Elgar - this is an opportunity we welcome.


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Was there any long-term effect of this episode? Its effect on the ElgarSociety’s membership was negligible and actually evoked from somemembers expressions of confidence in the Committee, for which they werenaturally grateful. But van Dieren’s assertion that the Elgar Society was nota national society hit home and gave impetus to the formation of the firstregional branch of the Elgar Society in London. It also increased desire toforge closer ties with the Elgar Birthplace Trust - in the words of Alan Webbat the next Society AGM, to close the ranks of Elgar organisations. Bernardvan Dieren, the humiliated man at the centre of the affair, died not longafterwards in 1973. In the years ahead, much effort went into investigatinghow the Birthplace Trust and the Society could co-operate more, and it isprobably true that the organisations are now as close as they can be withoutmerging.


5. The Establishment of the Regional Branches

Up to the 1970s, the Elgar Society arranged relatively few meetings each year,and some members had to travel considerable distances to attend. Theadvent of regional branches meant that many were able to travel to meetingswithout difficulty and participate in their running. By 1971 membership hadincreased to a level at which the creation of the first branch could becontemplated in the London area, which by now had the highestconcentration of members. As has been stated, Bernard van Dieren’sassertion that year that the Elgar Society was not a national society seemedto give impetus to the formation of the first regional branch. The followingnotice was sent out to members of the Elgar Society in October.

To implement the decision made at the last Annual General Meetingto form a London Branch, a special meeting of members (and others)resident in the metropolitan area took place in London. TheChairman, the Honorary Secretary and Honorary Treasurer werepresent, and the main function was to elect a steering committee,whose function is to endeavour to give practical effect to theexpressed wishes of members. It is hoped thereby to stimulate amuch wider interest in the Society and thus attract many newmembers.

The elected committee consists of the following:-

Mr Douglas Guest (Chairman)Dr H Watkins ShawDr Jerrold Northrop MooreMr E W A JacksonMr Douglas A PudneyMr Michael D Pope.

Arrangements have been made for the first meeting to be held onWednesday, 1st December, 7.30 pm, at the Institute of RecordedSound, 29 Exhibition Road, London SW7 (close to the Albert Hall).This will take the form of a short introductory business meeting, tobe followed by the presentation of the newly recorded Elgar Sonataand Quartet by Mr Douglas Pudney (EMI).

Thus began the first regional branch of the Elgar Society. Today, LondonBranch is a thriving branch, by far the largest in the Society. Manymembers live some distance from the capital, but work there and find itconvenient to attend evening meetings there during the week. It isappropriate to record here the debt of gratitude owed to E W A Jackson

(1904-1992) by the whole Society, of which he was Hon. Secretary for threeyears in the late 1970s, but also by London Branch, which was essentiallyhis creation. Bill Jackson was a man of great integrity and charm, who tooka real interest in members and impressed them all with the breadth of hisexperience and encyclopaedic memory. (London Branch members onceheard Bill recall misty-eyed how, as a young man in Worcester on business,he once summoned up the courage to call on Elgar at Marl Bank. Elgarlistened as Bill enthused over Elgar recordings he had recently bought.)

In the NEWSLETTER in November 1972 was the following notice.

For administrative purposes and to save the work of the HonorarySecretary, members living in the West Midlands will be asked to formthemselves into a separate branch, with their own chairman, secretaryand committee. To inaugurate this, a meeting will be held on Saturday13th January next at 2.30 pm at the Old Palace, Worcester. It is hopedthat many members living in the area will come primed with ideas forfuture meetings.

The West Midlands Branch was duly formed on 13 January 1973, withBertie Shaw as Branch Chairman, Mrs Lydia Shaw as Honorary Secretaryand Norman Thomas as Honorary Treasurer. The first committee consistedof Mrs Agnes Elgar (daughter-in-law of Elgar’s brother, Frank), Miss DorothyHowell, FRAM, Frank Greatwich, Stanley Lambert, Spencer Noble, WalterCullis, Martin Passande and Alan Bouldstridge. The first meeting of the newbranch was a joint one with Worcester Recorded Music Society on 24February 1973, at which Bertie Shaw introduced Elgar recordings. TheWest Midlands Branch meets mostly in the Worcester-Malvern area, wherethe majority of its members live; they are fortunate in having so many placesassociated with Elgar close at hand.

During 1973 discussions took place regarding setting up branches in Wales,the North East (this was not to be) and the North West. An East MidlandsBranch was established in 1975, based on Leicester, although this was sadlywound up in 1989. A North West Branch, based initially on Liverpool, thenManchester, and an East Anglia Branch followed in 1978. East AngliaBranch is one of the smaller branches, suffering from the diffuse spread ofthe population over its area and poor road and rail communications betweenmany towns. Yorkshire Branch, based on Leeds, and South West Branch,based on Bristol, arrived in 1979. South Wales Branch was established in1983; communications between South and North Wales are notoriouslydifficult, so it was recognised that an all-Wales Branch was not going to beviable. Southern Branch, based on Havant, was set up in 1990. Mostrecently, in 1998 came the Thames Valley Branch, based on Thame, and theScottish Branch.

Half-Century28

All members pay a subscription to the Society and may then join a branchand attend its meetings or, indeed, those of other branches. Branches electat annual general meetings their own officers and committee, including arepresentative to sit on the Council of the Society. Branch treasurers applyannually for funding to the Honorary Treasurer of the Society. Branches areautonomous within the limits of their constitutions, which must be approvedby the Council. A typical branch annual programme will feature five or sixmeetings where members or visiting speakers talk on aspects of Elgar andhis music, often illustrated by recorded music. Usually, at least one meetingis a concert of live music. Some branches arrange excursions to places ofinterest.

Experience has shown that, for a branch to be viable, a nucleus of severalenthusiasts is required to take office; a branch that exists by the efforts of oneindividual, however capable, sits on very shaky foundations. Moreover, theregion must be a distinct one, separate from those of established branches,and there must be at least a few tens of members resident in the area andwilling to support a branch. There should be at least one suitable place tomeet, within easy reach of branch members.

The Elgar Society’s regional branches are its life blood. They bringmembers more closely together. Without them all members would share theposition of the geographically isolated members (whimsically termed‘unattached’ members), whose contact is generally limited to the ElgarSociety JOURNAL and NEWS, and the events surrounding the Society’sAnnual General Meeting.

The advent of regional branches in the early 1970s marked a turning pointfor the Elgar Society. As most events became organised by branches, thevision of the central Society became both more national and international;membership increased steadily at home and abroad; the governing bodybecame enlarged and acquired specialised expertise; technologicaladvances in publishing and recording were seized to full advantage,including latterly the proselytising opportunities of the Internet. Thesevaried activities are reviewed separately in coming chapters.

Mention has been made in an earlier chapter of Dr Douglas Guest (d.1996),who was Chairman of the Society from 1976 to 1978. This was a time ofsignificant expansion under the new regime of regional branches, and theSociety was fortunate to have a musician of Douglas Guest’s distinction, aswell as a man with his leadership skills, to guide its direction.


Half-Century30

6. The Last 25 Years

Following the watershed establishment of the first regional branches, theElgar Society entered a period of sustained growth in membership duringthe 1970s and early 1980s. From this time on, most events were branchevents. It is not proposed to record here the history of the branches, ratherto focus on the concurrent national activities of the Society, that arose fromthe deliberations of the Council, and review other events of interest. TheSociety’s activities are in part documented here, but have been fullyrecorded in the Elgar Society JOURNAL and NEWS over the past 25 years.The JOURNAL saw major changes in the 1970s, and the Elgar Society wentinto the recording business; these significant developments demand a fullcommentary and are described in separate chapters.

The last half of the 1970s brought a profusion of premier Elgar recordings:Polonia, the Grania and Diarmid music, The Starlight Express, the OboeSoliloquy (orchestrated by Gordon Jacob), Caractacus, the CoronationOde, The Spirit of England and the early wind quintets. What a joyful timethat was for Elgar record collectors!

1978 brought a biography of Lady Elgar by Dr Percy Young. Elgar’s homein Hereford, Plas Gwyn, came under threat of demolition (not for the firsttime); there was a brave but unsuccessful attempt by the Elgar Foundationto purchase it. During an Elgar Festival at Tewkesbury, Philomusica ofGloucestershire accomplished the first performance of The Apostles andThe Kingdom on the same day. In this year, the AGMs of the Elgar Societyreturned permanently to the West Midlands after two poorly attendedmeetings in London. The AGM, held on a Saturday close to Elgar’s birthdayon 2 June, developed into a Birthday Weekend of events for members, heldin Worcester and Malvern.

In 1981 Society membership exceeded 1,000, and the Prince of Walesunveiled Worcester’s Elgar Statue, to which the Elgar Society hadcontributed. Compact discs were introduced this year, adding anotherdimension to recorded sound.

In 1982 Novello embarked on a major project to publish definitive fullscores of all Elgar’s works with scholarly notes. The first works to appearin the Elgar Complete Edition were The Dream of Gerontius and the FirstSymphony. This enterprise continued through the following decade until1990, when Novello withdrew after a change of ownership. Seven volumeshad been completed.

In 1983 the Society’s first President, Sir Adrian Boult, died at the age of 92,and the office rightly fell to Sir Yehudi (later Lord) Menuhin. Sir WilliamWalton, Herbert Howells and Edgar Day, assistant organist at WorcesterCathedral for 50 years, also died this year. The independent Sheffield andDistrict Elgar Society was wound up: it had failed to attract new membersand its remaining members were infirm and few in number.

1984 saw many Elgar concerts to mark the fiftieth anniversary of thecomposer’s death; the Three Choirs’ Festival, happily at Worcester thisyear, featured many of these, including The Black Knight, which was soonto be recorded for the first time. Two significant Elgar books appeared:Jerrold Northrop Moore’s long-awaited Edward Elgar: A Creative Life, andWulstan Atkins’s The Elgar-Atkins Friendship. The first official Elgar Routewas established in Worcestershire, a sign of the increasing level of publicinterest in Elgar.

The late 1980s brought recordings of the last remaining large-scale Elgarworks to be recorded: King Olaf, The Banner of St George, Une Voix dansle Désert and Le Drapeau Belge, not to mention the early music written forthe Staff Band at Powick Asylum.

From 1987 to 1990, Jerrold Northrop Moore brought out several volumesof edited Elgar letters.

In 1988 the Elgar Society became a registered charity; the benefits of thisstatus had long since been recognised by the officers of the Society, but nowthe case for the change had become compelling.

The 1990s brought several books of Elgar scholarship, including twonotable volumes, Elgar Studies and Edward Elgar: Music & Literature,edited by Raymond Monk and supported by the Elgar Society.

In 1995 a permanent headstone was erected for the Elgar Family Grave atAstwood Cemetery, Worcester; this was jointly funded by the Elgar Society,the Elgar Foundation and the Elgar family. This year, the shell of a newcentre was erected behind Elgar’s Birthplace amidst a fair amount of publiccontroversy; the building remained unfinished for five years, due to lack offunds. The following year, bold plans to establish an Elgar Centre forEnglish Music at the former Lawnside School in Malvern were abandoned,also through lack of funds.

In 1996 the Elgar Society established its joint web-site on the Internet withthe Elgar Foundation and Birthplace Trust. In 1996 and 1997 St Wulstan’sChurch in Little Malvern undertook a major refurbishment of church andchurchyard; the Elgar Society contributed towards the costs around Elgar’sGrave, as did members of the Elgar family.


Half-Century32

The last years of the twentieth century saw scholarly attention turn toElgar’s uncompleted works: recordings became available of music writtenfor Elgar’s opera, The Spanish Lady, and the slow movement of a pianoconcerto, both edited by Dr Percy Young; the sketches for the ThirdSymphony, explained by Anthony Payne; and, finally, Anthony Payne’selaboration of these sketches into a full-length symphonic work. LordMenuhin, the Society’s second President and one of the last remainingdirect links with the composer, died in 1999, to be succeeded by RichardHickox. Elgar appeared with Worcester Cathedral on the new £20 note.

In 1999 the Elgar Society provided a commemorative plaque for theMuswell Hill home of A J Jaeger, Elgar’s friend and mentor at Novello.Wulstan Atkins unveiled the plaque and gave an address; afterwards, FelixAprahamian generously threw open his house and garden nearby toentertain the assembled throng, which included the descendants of some ofthe ‘friends pictured within’ Elgar’s Enigma Variations. Jaeger hadfamously drawn attention to this work, and the plaque unveiling took placeon the 100th anniversary of its premiPre.

In 2000, the Duke of York unveiled Malvern’s Elgar Statue, the Birthplace’sElgar Centre was finally fitted out and opened, and the Elgar Society tookthe initiative to lead a project to finish, under the name Elgar SocietyEdition, the Elgar Complete Edition that had been abandoned by Novelloseven years previously.

7. The Membership

The writer is indebted to Paul Adrian Rooke, Elgar Society Publicity Officer, forstatistical data.

The Elgar Society is by far the largest composer society in Great Britain andhas a number of members overseas. In its first year, 1951, it had 230members. Membership stayed in the low hundreds through the 1950s and1960s with a small surge of recruitment during and after the centenary ofElgar’s birth in 1957. The 1970s and early 1980s saw real growth, so thatby 1981 membership had passed 1,000. Since then, it has fluctuated, neverdropping much below 1,200 and exceeding 1,500 in 1999.

To obtain a good understanding of the membership, Paul Adrian Rooke,Publicity Officer for the Society, conducted a detailed questionnaire in1998. One third of members responded and Paul valiantly analysed theresulting data. Based upon the sample, 30% of members join the Societywhen they are under 40, 70% over 40. 47% remain in the Society for up toten years, and an additional 27% for 11-20 years. 20% have been membersfor over twenty years, indicating a generally middle-aged commitment to theSociety which lasts for an appreciable number of years. Less than 1% areunder 18, 2.5% aged 18-30, 9.25% aged 31-45. 45% are in work, 51%retired, and the rest are students or unemployed. (The preponderance ofmiddle-aged people is in line with membership of most societies of aserious, artistic nature.)

The vast majority join to increase their knowledge of Elgar’s music and life,and a slightly smaller number to increase their understanding of his musicand life. The most popular stated aims of the Society are to sponsorrecordings of lesser-known works, to publicise the Society in the UnitedKingdom, and to sponsor performances of lesser-known music and re-issues of historical recordings. 46% of those replying attend branchmeetings.


Half-Century34

8. The Elgar Society in North Americaby Frank Beck

Frank Beck is a New York-based writer and video producer who has been a member ofthe Society since 1981. His work includes a radio play, A Mass for Miss Hanley, andvideo biographies of Longfellow and Robert Louis Stevenson. He is a member of theScottish Branch and a regular contributor to the JOURNAL and the Society’s web site.

If anyone wonders whether the Society’s efforts are needed as much todayas they were in 1951, consider this conversation, which took place a fewweeks ago in a New England supermarket. A music critic for a localnewspaper was waiting in the check-out line when the young man standingnext to him recognized him and introduced himself. The man said he wasa freelance horn player who worked for various regional orchestras.

‘I wonder if you could tell me something,’ he asked. ‘I’ve just played a workI’d never heard of, and it was one of the most amazing experiences of mylife. Can you suggest a good recording of it?’ ‘Sure, what was it?’ ‘It wascalled The Dream of Gerontius.’

The Society’s North American members are helping to promote interest inElgar among a continent of musicians and listeners who are still learning toappreciate the full range and diversity of his music. There are 51 membersin the United States and 12 in Canada, as well as 12 institutionalsubscribers. We are scattered across an enormous continent - one of themembers I hear from most often is Pat Kinahan, who lives some 3,000miles away in Richmond, British Columbia - but we find many ways ofworking with one another and with members in the UK.

Our first sizable meeting was in September of 1984, when 12 membersfrom four north-eastern states and their friends gathered at the AmericanStanhope Hotel in Manhattan. It proved difficult to hold regular meetingsfor the members at large, but five members in British Columbia meetregularly as part of the Elgar Association of Vancouver. In addition,individual members throughout the continent frequently attend concertstogether or just get together to talk; and many North American membershave been able to visit the UK, where British members have invited us intotheir homes and welcomed us with great hospitality. These visits often havebeen the start of ongoing relationships, conducted by mail and ‘phone inearlier days, and now by e-mail as well.

One of our most important projects has been the donation of scores of CDs,cassettes and books to university and municipal libraries, giving thousands


of Americans access to Elgar works they might not encounter otherwise. Ithas been gratifying to hear that many of the recordings have becomefavourites in local collections.

The Internet has given us some very useful new tools. Every Elgarperformance that we learn about is posted on the Society’s web site. Wethen contact the people promoting the concert and tell them about theSociety. North American members are also active participants in thenetwork of Elgarians that exchange information and ideas through theInternet. Anthony Anderson, a California member, circulates a regularround-up of articles about Elgar from the world press via e-mail.

Sometimes e-mail and more traditional forms of communication work veryeffectively together. When I heard about an upcoming performance ofGerontius in Hartford recently, I contacted the music critics at twonewspapers there and asked if they planned to write about the concert.Both said they wanted to run feature articles about the work but neededphotographs for them. I ‘phoned Lani Spahr, a member who lives inConcord, New Hampshire, and within 24 hours Lani was able to supplyboth papers with a wide range of photographs electronically. Two well-illustrated stories, which otherwise might not have been done, appearedduring the week before the concert.

One of most encouraging recent developments here has been the growth ofthe Elgar Association of Vancouver, which held its 26th regular meeting inApril 2000. Andrew Neill has expressed the hope that the Association willbecome a full-fledged branch of the Society, and I hope that this will inspiregroups of members in other parts of North America to do the same.

Half-Century36

9. The Elgar Society Council

Three times a year, twenty-five members of the Elgar Society converge onLondon to spend several hours talking around a table. They are themembers of the Council of the Society (formerly General Committee),comprising the executive officers and committee, elected at the SocietyAnnual General Meeting, and Branch Representatives, elected at the annualgeneral meetings of the various Branches. The regular meetings of theSociety are organised by the Branch officers and committees, so what doesthe Council do?

The Honorary Secretary, assisted by Council members, arranges theAnnual General Meeting of the Society on a weekend close to Elgar’sbirthday, 2 June, in the Worcester-Malvern area. Accompanying events areorganised to provide a weekend of interest to members. These events mayinclude a lecture, a concert or a visit to places associated with Elgar. It iscustomary for Worcester Cathedral to arrange a special Elgar Evensong onthe Sunday, which many members attend and where the Chairman lays achaplet at the Elgar Memorial Window. A garden party follows at Elgar’sBirthplace at Broadheath; given the vagaries of the British climate, it isastonishing how lucky with the weather members have been over the years.Other occasional events for the whole Society are arranged, such as dayschools on aspects of Elgar’s music and the unveiling of memorial plaques.The Honorary Treasurer, assisted by Council members, considers annualrequests for funding from the regional branches, and allocates money to theSociety’s many ventures, including the upkeep of the Elgar Graves. TheCouncil monitors the health of the regional branches through BranchRepresentatives, and helps establish new branches when such branchesseem viable.

The Council disseminates information to members and the public in anumber of important ways. The Elgar Society NEWS and the Elgar SocietyJOURNAL are produced three times a year by the Editor, who is appointedby the Council. The Council oversees publication of Elgar studies; in recenttimes the Council has set up Elgar Enterprises to publish specialist bookson Elgar, produce CDs and CD-ROMs, promote concerts and to undertakeother commercial activities connected with the composer that could not betaken on by a registered charity. A joint web-site with the Elgar Foundationand Birthplace Trust is maintained on the Internet by a Society member topromote interest in Elgar; it shows listings of Elgar concerts and ElgarSociety branch information, including branch events. The Council overseesthe production of historical Elgar recordings on compact discs, and makesdonations to others’ Elgar recording projects, which it deems worthy and in


need of financial support. It tries to promote the live performance of Elgar’smusic through grants to performers at home and abroad, although thecomparatively modest income of the Society places a restriction on the sizeand frequency of these grants. The Council is aware of a large potential forElgar’s music beyond these shores; the level of interest abroad is monitoredand a network of correspondents in various countries is maintained for co-ordination and promotional purposes. The Council considersrecommendations for new recipients of the Elgar Medal, believing this to bean effective way of encouraging non-British nationals to perform Elgar. Itlobbies for ventures outside the Society that it believes worthwhile, such asthe Elgar Complete Edition. The condition of Elgar houses has beenmonitored through the Council’s Conservation Sub-Committee.

Council members come from a variety of professional and non-professionalbackgrounds; it is extraordinary to witness the range of skills that arebrought to bear (free of charge!) on Society issues. It is invidious to selectmembers worthy of note, but mention must be made here of Carol Holt(1939-1995), who worked tirelessly as Honorary Secretary for almost adecade. Her forthright and positive, warm and open personality was aninspiration to her fellow members, who were deeply saddened by her earlydeath through illness. A temporary fund named after her was set up by theCouncil to help young musicians in their careers, a cause that was dear toCarol.

Half-Century38

10. Managing the Finances

The writer is indebted to John Greig, Honorary Treasurer of the Elgar Society, forfinancial information.

The Society’s income comes from the following sources:

Subscriptions (including reclaimed tax when covenanted)DonationsProfits on sales of merchandise (through Elgar Enterprises)Royalties on recordings and books

Expenditure goes on the following:

Administration (meeting expenses, stationery, postage, etc)Branch funding (hire of meetings rooms, speakers’ fees, etc)Elgar Society JOURNAL and NEWSRecording projects and sponsorship of concerts, etc.

The annual turnover in 1999 was £25,000. The diagrams below andopposite show the relative proportions of items of income and expenditurefor the year 2000.

The annual subscription started in 1951 at 5 shillings (25p); lifemembership cost 5 guineas (£5.25). It was not until 1968 that the

Subscriptions (incl. Tax Refunds)

Donations

Profit on Sale of Goods

Royalties on CDs and Books

Percentage of Total Income

5% 3% 4%

88%


subscription was increased to 10 shillings (50p), life membership still 5guineas!. We now enter the years of inflation for in 1973 the subscriptionrose to £1. Inflation meant that those taking out life membership weregetting rather too good a deal, particularly as the Society was becomingsignificantly more active. Life membership was increased to £10 in 1971and later discontinued, life members being asked to pay an annualsubscription! 5 guineas took a bit of finding in the early years of the Society,and it could be argued that the Society ought to have given some recognitionto the ‘lifers’. For the next twenty years, branches levied their own branchsubscriptions: London Branch started out at £2, West Midlands Branch75p. By 1993 the Society subscription had become £10; this included asum to cover branch activities, which were now being funded centrally. In2000, the subscription stood at £18.

When compared to subscriptions of other societies of a similar nature, theElgar Society’s subscriptions have been comparatively modest. There havealways been reduced subscriptions for students (1951: 1 shilling, 2000:£9), and a single subscription has for a long while covered another namedperson at the same address, prepared to share one copy of the JOURNALand NEWS.

It is a delicate job, balancing unpopular increases in subscriptions againstnew, money-consuming projects, of which there never seems to be ashortage. The Honorary Treasurer strives to keep membership of theSociety affordable to most, while funding a level of activity that mostmembers expect to see.

Administration

Branch Funding

Society Journal and News

Recording Projects &Sponsorship

Percentage of Total Expenditure

18%

21%

27%

34%

1 (above) : DickMountford (chauffeur)with Elgar and dogs inhis Lea Francis,Napleton Grange,1925. (courtesy of

Elgar's Birthplace)

2 (left) : Elgar outsideQueen's Hall inNovember 1928, aftera rehearsal of Falstaff.

(courtesy ofElgar's Birthplace)

3 (opposite) : Elgar's other family,the Graftons, at TheElms, Stoke Prior,c.1905. Standing: Clare,Gerald, Roland (infront), Vincent.Seated: May (whospent much time inthe Elgar household),Willie (Martin William),Elgar's sister Pollie(Susanna Mary) andMadge (Madeline).

(courtesy of Paul Grafton, son of

Roland)

4 : Lady Elgar at Plas Gwyn (courtesy of Elgar's Birthplace)

5 : Elgar, 1904(courtesy of Elgar's Birthplace)

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(Gordon Lee)

8 (below) : ElgarFamily Grave,A s t w o o dC e m e t e r y ,W o r c e s t e r ,1996. Thewooden crossmarks FrankElgar's grave.

(Michael Trott)

Half-Century46

11. From NEWSLETTER to JOURNALby Ronald Taylor

Ronald Taylor was Editor of the Elgar Society JOURNAL from the autumn of 1976 to June1991. He has made a special study of BBC broadcasts of Elgar’s music during Elgar’slifetime.

Members of the Elgar Society, now used to the very professional magazine,in two sections, may not realise that its beginnings were in occasionalleaflets, seldom running to more than three or four pages, issued from theSecretary’s office in Malvern. When Wulstan Atkins took over the office ofSecretary in 1973, he realised that a growing membership needed somethingmore. He instituted a series of duplicated quarto Newsletters, which simplygrew and grew. Articles began to appear, submitted by members, reviews ofrecords and books, as well as the usual concert and meetingannouncements. So much material, in fact, that at the end of Wulstan’stenure of office in 1976 the NEWSLETTER could barely be held together by thestaples. Something had to be done, and somehow I became involved.

The Society’s base had shifted, inevitably, to the capital from Malvern andWorcester, and it marked the beginning of a number of changes which wouldlead to a larger Society, with a number of branches. Wulstan Atkins had donea remarkable job in combining the offices of Secretary and NEWSLETTEREditor, and with his growing Elgar Foundation, but he was the first to realisethat this situation could not continue. I took over from him at a very civilisedceremony at his Surrey home where, I recall, we jointly demolished anexcellent bottle of wine at his kitchen table. Perhaps it was the effect of thatwine, but whereas I had mentally thought that (unless dismissed forincompetence!) I would do the job for a maximum of three years, I ended upholding office for some fifteen! In the first instance the new Secretary, BillJackson, had suggested an editorial committee of six people plus myself!What would we all have talked about? In the end it was reduced to acommittee of three others, John Buttrey, Michael Rostron and TrevorFenemore-Jones, all of whom provided valuable help to me during those earlyyears. Eventually the committee almost withered away for, as Trevor said,‘You’re going to do it your way, anyway!’ Looking at that first 1977 volume,with its regular cover, printed contents list from typed copy, and with theoccasional illustration, I am a little amused to see that the basic frameworkinstituted then has changed very little. Dates for your Diary, Record and Bookreviews, ‘gossip’ column, News from Branches ... all are still with us today.But our modest 32 pages looks very inadequate besides today’s offering.However, it was a much smaller Society, there were few books about Elgar,and the spate of recordings to which we are now accustomed, was then onlya trickle. It should also be remembered that we never had a budget for theJOURNAL. The Society was not rich, and economy was always welcomed.


The Society, though, was growing. New Branches were being established, andthis Editor was certainly learning a great deal, not only about Elgar and hismusic, but about the members all over the country. I was very conscious thatfor over half the membership the NEWSLETTER, in 1979 renamed theJOURNAL, was the only thing they got for their subscription. I felt that theJOURNAL belonged to the members, and if on occasions I had to stamp on aparticularly large bee in a bonnet, generally I was encouraged by the degreeof knowledge among some of the members, and the generosity with whichthey placed their researches at my disposal. The late Gareth Lewis was atower of strength from my first months as Editor. His perceptive reviews ofnew recordings, his musical knowledge, and occasional articles, all helped toset a standard. There were, of course, a number of ‘solutions’ to the Enigma.(Why does it fascinate so many?) Less likely, and occasionally painfully, Idiscovered POETS. It seems that one aspect of enthusiasm for an artist or hiswork is to write a poem about it. Almost all had to be rejected, though I didit as kindly as I could. On only one occasion that I recall did I refuse topublish a lengthy article which the authors insisted should be printed withoutany cuts. Since some of it was an attack on certain individuals, who probablynever saw the JOURNAL anyway, I pointed out that personal grievances had noplace in the Society’s JOURNAL. Their contribution was returned, and I neverheard from them again. Many events took place over the years, especially themusical celebrations during 1984, the fiftieth anniversary of Elgar’s death. Itwas fascinating, and hard work - the resulting JOURNALs seldom reflectedadequately all the efforts which were going on, to say nothing of battles withprinters. Friendships were made, which I valued, and contact was made witha number of overseas members for the first time.

I think that the standard of the JOURNAL improved, the quality of thearticles increased in value certainly, and we even began to be quoted. It waswhen scholars of the calibre of Percy Young, Jerrold Northrop Moore,Diana McVeagh and Michael Kennedy all said how valuable they found theJOURNAL, that I felt that all the hours of hard work, journeys, andresearches, were worthwhile. By 1990 I felt that it was time to give someoneelse a chance to move the JOURNAL forward. I believe that I and mycontributors had laid good foundations - but future development wantednew ideas, and new technology was beginning to knock on our door. I gavethe Society a year’s notice in 1990, and in 1991 I finally handed over afterproducing the May 1991 issue: 42 pages, with even the occasional advert.,computer type-set, with coloured covers. It looked, and felt, a betterproduction than that tentative issue of January 1977. Stepping down wasin some ways a sad moment for me, but the very generous remarks, and thepresent of a CD player, made at the AGM in 1991 were a greatcompensation, and the granting of an Honorary Membership to me was agesture I had not expected. I value it greatly. The new Editor even lets mecontribute to the JOURNAL from time to time ...

Half-Century48

12. From the Editor’s Chairby Geoffrey Hodgkins

Geoffrey Hodgkins has been an active member of the Elgar Society for over twenty-fiveyears, and has sung in a number of Elgar choral recordings. He has written Providenceand Art, a study of Elgar’s religious beliefs; numerous articles on all aspects of Elgar’smusic; a definitive Elgar Bibliography; and edited The Best of Me, a GerontiusCompanion. Since 1991, he has edited the Elgar Society JOURNAL and NEWS, and in 1999he became editorial director of the Elgar Society’s newly-formed Elgar Enterprises.

Taking over the editorship from Ronald Taylor was a daunting prospect,and I soon learned the difficulties under which he had laboured. Copy wastyped up and then sent to a typesetter, who prepared camera-ready art-work for the printer. The typesetter sent proofs back to Ron for editing, andsometimes human frailty meant that these corrections were not alwaysincorporated, and on occasions new errors appeared (once or twice pageshad been printed in the wrong order). The finished product was then sentto the printers, and the JOURNALs were eventually passed on to adistribution company, who would stuff them into envelopes and post themoff. Considering all things, it was a minor miracle that each issue reachedthe high standard it did and came out approximately on time.

I persevered with this arrangement for my first two issues, but found ittiresome, and decided to streamline the operation. After discussions withthe Hon. Treasurer, the Society very kindly bought me a computer andprinter so that I could produce the copy myself. I was pretty much illiterateon the computer then, and it helped to have two teenage daughters, whosedexterity and knowledge of the technology left me reeling on occasions!Another development was to change to a printing company nearer to whereI live: this meant I could take the completed JOURNAL directly to them tosave time. They also had a mailing outlet, which further reduced thenumber of stages in the operation.

Another problem for me was that publication dates of January, May andSeptember meant deadlines in December, April and August - all monthswith major holidays, the first two also being major Christian festivals, andextremely busy for a practising church musician. So 1994 saw fourJOURNALs published - January, May, September, and one in November,which ushered in the new publication dates of March, July and November.

Ronald had also cautioned me about publishing too big a JOURNAL. ‘If thereis a fall in the number of pages, some people will feel cheated and short-changed,’ he said. But Topsy-like, the JOURNAL gradually grew in size.

Elgar’s popularity meant that there was a steady stream of books andrecordings, and occasionally other things such as printed music andvideos, to be reviewed. There seemed to be no shortage of able andknowledgeable writers who wanted to write. Ronald always told me that hisrecurring nightmare was that he would get to the publishing deadline withnothing to put into the JOURNAL. My problems were much more concernedwith what to omit! The large amount of up-to-the-minute news ofhappenings in the world of Elgar often meant that items of a more timelessnature, such as ‘learned’ articles, had to be left over to the following issue,or split into two or even three parts. To me this was an unsatisfactory stateof affairs. Another change took place therefore in 1997: the JOURNALacquired a younger brother - the Elgar Society NEWS. (I considered reviving‘NEWSLETTER’, but it sounded a little parochial for what it was, and I didn’twant it to be confused with the earlier publication from the 1970s.)

The new format JOURNAL - on coated paper - continued to include majorarticles on aspects of Elgar’s life, music and world (which could now bepublished in their entirety rather than being split); obituaries of eminentElgarians; plus reviews of books, music and recordings; and correspon-dence. As we were approaching the centenary of the beginning of Elgar’sgreatest creative period, I included a feature entitled ‘100 Years Ago ...’, apage-long description of the happenings in Elgar’s life at the time.

The NEWS was to include editorial comment on current events; coverage ofimportant happenings such as the annual Birthday Weekend or thepresentation of the Elgar Medal; reviews of concerts, radio and TVprogrammes; the concert diary; reports of activities by the various branches;news from the Birthplace at Broadheath, and a whole host of other things.

It is perhaps inevitable that my original estimate for the new format of 72pages (48 for the JOURNAL, 24 for the NEWS) would be too small; and so itproved. In 1999 the average size of each JOURNAL was 67 pages; and of theNEWS 41 pages. Some might suggest that I could wield the Editor’s scissors alittle more often; but to me it is of vital importance to include a wide varietyof topics, as that reflects the multifarious nature of the Society’s membership.

As can be readily imagined, all this development has been incredibly time-consuming, and thus it was wonderful for me towards the end of 1998 tohand over the layout of the two publications to John Norris. His expertisehas been invaluable, particularly with the NEWS, which looks much moreprofessional than before. Technological developments, especially electronicmail, have reduced much of the ‘chore’ element in preparing each issue forpublication; and as in many other areas, the Society has cause to be gratefulto John for his current contribution to the production of the JOURNAL andNEWS. Our changing world, especially the growth of the Internet, means thatElgar’s world is now much larger than this country: the concert diary is


many times the size it was when I became Editor, and many of the concertsare in other countries.

What makes the JOURNAL so special to me is that it is for the members, andalthough we have often included pieces from other sources, it is largely bythe members. A look at the articles published over a quarter of a centuryreveals an amazing variety of topics, often containing a good deal of originalresearch, or detail which is beyond the scope of a book. Elgar’s links withother composers is a favourite topic, either dealing with hiscontemporaries, such as Warlock (by Ian Parrott), Bantock (Gareth Lewis),Bliss (K D Mitchell), Coates (Ian Lace), Sullivan (Philip Scowcroft) orHoratio Parker (William Kearns); or earlier composers, such asTchaikovsky (Digby Hague-Holmes), Byrd (Richard Turbet), and Bach (IanParrott again). A related topic concerns characters in the Elgar story - theFitton family (Olive Gosden), A C Benson (David Bury), Charles Buck(Dennis Clark), and Nicholas Kilburn (Wendy Labbett). Importantcollections of correspondence have been dealt with : by Kenneth Shenton onElgar’s letters to the blind organist, William Wolstenholme; Kevin Allen onthose to Rosa Burley; and both sides of the Elgar-Pitt correspondence (bythe past and present Editors). We also reprinted an article from MusicalOpinion, which contained the letters from Elgar to the German composer,Fritz Volbach. Elgar’s interpreters is always a popular subject, right fromthe early days of the NEWSLETTER, when Barry Collett wrote on foreign-bornconductors performing Elgar’s works. Since then Gareth Lewis has writtenon Hans Richter, Henry Coward and Edward Lloyd; David Bury on LudwigWüllner and James Whewell; and Charles Hooey on Caroline Hatchard andother early soloists in The Spirit of England (this article also establishedthat the first complete performance of the work took place in Birminghamunder Appleby Matthews, and not in Leeds under Elgar).

Writings on Elgar’s works are of course well covered in the manybiographies, and therefore many JOURNAL articles on this subject havelooked at some of the less familiar pieces, such as Polonia (by the Polish-American Joseph Herter); the Te Deum & Benedictus (John Winter); TheStarlight Express (Ken Simmons); the Queen Alexandra Memorial Ode(Christopher Kent); the Loughborough Memorial Chimes (James RLawson); the Organ Sonata (Rodney Baldwyn); Elgar’s orchestration ofBrewer’s Emmaus (Michael Trott); and the Severn Suite by Philip Maund,an outstanding piece of scholarship by a brass band expert, which threwmuch new light on this work.

Of the major works, the most popular must be the Enigma Variations, butfocusing mainly on suggested solutions to the puzzle (if there is one). Myexperience is that nothing stirs members’ interests (or curiosity?) as muchas this work. It would be closely followed by The Dream of Gerontius, andmany articles on this - especially those by Lewis Foreman, Walter Essex,

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Charles McGuire, Gareth Lewis, David Bury, and Carl Newton - wereincluded in The Best of Me in 1999 (see below). Some articles on largerworks focused on recordings of them, by Michael Plant on the ViolinConcerto and the Second Symphony, and by Edwin Buckhalter on the FirstSymphony; while Roger Hecht analysed Sea Pictures and reviewed allknown recordings of it.

Reprints of earlier articles appeared: by Leopold Auer on the ViolinConcerto, and by Jaeger on the Opus 53 and 54 part-songs. GeoffreyHodgkins introduced Elgar’s notes to Percy Pitt on In the South (prior tothe work’s first performance). Arthur Reynolds wrote a fascinating piece, adetective story really, about the fate of the manuscript full score of Falstaff,and how it was linked to Elgar being filmed for the cinema. RobertAnderson’s 1993 A T Shaw Lecture on The Crown of India filled in muchintriguing background to the work and its performance. Two outstandingarticles on libretti appeared, of Sea Pictures and Caractacus respectively,by the New Zealand musicologist, Patrick Little.

Elgar was not only a much-travelled man, but moved house a large numberof times. Places he lived in or visited have always been popular themes forwriters. His own West Midlands country has been covered by Michael Trott,Ken and Marion Simmons, Vincent Waite, and Jacob O’Callaghan. DennisClark has dealt with Elgar’s visits to Yorkshire and to Scotland, whilstGeoffrey Hodgkins and Louie Eickhoff dealt with aspects of his years inHampstead. Finally, personal memories of Elgar have included those of SirSteuart Wilson, Sir Percy and Lady Hull, William Alwyn, Alan Webb, andBasil Maine.

Most of the above names are ‘ordinary’ Society members, and it is areminder that a Society like ours has enormous potential in theenthusiastic ‘amateurs’ within its membership. The Society is also indebtedto Elgar’s biographers - Robert Anderson, Michael Kennedy, DianaMcVeagh, Jerrold Northrop Moore, Ian Parrott, and Percy Young - who overthe years have freely and graciously contributed articles, reviews andobituaries, and thus enhanced the status of the JOURNAL.

Where will it all end? Will Ronald Taylor’s nightmare become a reality?Shall we, as a memorable letter to the JOURNAL many years ago put it, bereduced to articles with titles like ‘Elgar and the man who punched ticketsat Worcester Railway Station’? Certainly, recent research has oftenuncovered more of the minutiae of Elgar than was known heretofore. Someof his works which suffered neglect for many years are being reappraised,taken up and performed. But beyond that, although music itself will notchange, our perception of it may, as we change, and as our culture changes.Great composers and their music will always need to be re-discovered andre-interpreted by the next generation of listeners.


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13. Elgar Society Publicationsby Geoffrey Hodgkins

For some years before the Society produced a regular publication for itsmembership, an occasional monograph was forthcoming. The first twoappeared in the mid 1950s, based on talks given to the Society, by DianaMcVeagh (1955) and by Julius Harrison (1957). There followed quite a longgap until in 1968 Professor Ian Parrott’s new ideas on the Enigma werepublished (and later incorporated into his biography of the composer in the‘Master Musicians’ series); and in 1969 the Birthplace Curator Alan Webbbrought out a small book of anecdotes and thoughts, based on his time atBroadheath. The next publication was in 1976, the text of Yehudi Menuhin’slecture to the London Branch earlier that year. The growth and enterpriseof that branch over the next few years were shown in two furtherpublications based on lectures - Geoffrey Hodgkins’ Providence and Art(1979); and David Bury’s Elgar and the Two Mezzos (1984).

A major project in 1977 was the publication of An Elgar Discography,compiled by the Society’s Treasurer, John Knowles. This was the largestpublishing project thus far, 70 pages in A5 format, similar to the newNEWSLETTER. Obviously there were a few errors and omissions, and lists ofthese were included by Knowles in subsequent NEWSLETTERs. With thecontinuing large number of Elgar releases, the book went to a secondedition in 1985, enlarged to 133 pages and brought out in landscape formatby Thames Publishing. There was particular interest in Elgar around thistime, centring on the fiftieth anniversary of his death: in 1984, as well asBury’s book from the London Branch, the Society produced The Elgars ofWorcester, a short but enlightening account of the movements of the Elgarfamily in the early years of Edward’s life, based on some painstaking andoriginal research by Ken and Marion Simmons.

Ten years later, a bibliography of Elgar by Geoffrey Hodgkins appeared inThe Music Review, and the Editor of that periodical, the late AnthonyLeighton Thomas - who was also the Chairman of the South Wales Branchof the Society - kindly arranged for it to be published as an offprint. AnotherBranch Chairman - Michael Trott of the West Midlands - produced an ElgarFamily Tree on a single sheet that same year, and this was included free tomembers with the JOURNAL.

Raymond Monk's two excellent books of essays Elgar Studies (1990) andEdward Elgar - music & Literature (1993), should also be mentioned here.Although not published by the Society, Raymond generously donated theproceeds from the books to Society funds.


As we enter the new millennium, the Society has embarked on its mostambitious scheme yet in the area of publishing. Forbidden to trade underthe terms of the Charities Act, it decided to set up a trading company, ElgarEnterprises, whose object is to produce and sell products which will bringin revenue to the Society to enable it to pursue its charitable aims. The firstof these appeared in late 1999 - a Centenary Companion to The Dream ofGerontius. Edited by JOURNAL Editor, Geoffrey Hodgkins, it was acollection of reviews and articles about Elgar’s great choral work,comprising nearly 400 pages and published in hardback. As already stated,many of the articles had first appeared in the JOURNAL, written by Societymembers. A second book, this time in paperback, on the Elgars’ Germanholidays in the 1890s, entitled In the Bavarian Highlands, by Peter andJean Greaves, appeared in the spring of 2000 and a number of other titlesare now in preparation. The production of such material is obviously animportant way in which we can make people aware of the Society and thuskeep the name of Elgar before the public.

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14. Elgar Society RecordingsBy John Knowles

John Knowles was Honorary Treasurer of the Elgar Society from 1976 to 1984 and Vice-Chairman from 1992 to 1995. He was instrumental in the production of the Society’srecorded anthologies of historic Elgar performances on LP record and compact disc, andcompiled a comprehensive Elgar Discography in 1977 (revised 1986). He is anHonorary Member of the Elgar Society. A complete list of recordings, with which theElgar Society is associated, is given in an appendix.

I stood outside the block of apartments in Maida Vale, my knees knocking,wondering what on earth I had let myself in for. Of course, I had seen himon the rostrum many times. I had heard him speak on the radio, but whatwould he be like face to face and on a one-to-one basis? After all, he wasnearly sixty years older than I was. A lady in a flowery pinafore opened thedoor. Doubts as to her status were immediately resolved by her warmwelcome: ‘Ah, Mr Knowles. My husband is expecting you.’ Without furtherado, I was quickly ushered into an armchair opposite Sir Adrian Boult. Itwas November 1982, and I had been summoned by the great man to explainwhy, through the good offices of Michael Pope, then Chairman of theSociety, I had persuaded him to waive the conductor’s fee, to which he wasentitled, for the 1967 BBC broadcast of Elgar Choral Songs that the Societyhad just issued as an LP.

This was not, however, the first record to have appeared on the ElgarSociety’s own label. A predecessor had been released two years before,although its genesis really dates back to the autumn of 1973. David Michelland I had got to know each other through the London Branch Committee,and he had invited me to his home on two or three occasions to sample hislarge collection of Elgar 78s. I remember being bowled over by TudorDavies’s ‘And King Olaf heard the cry’ and thinking what a tragedy it wasthat so few people were able to enjoy both the music, for a completerecording of King Olaf seemed very unlikely at that stage, and thatparticular singer, for LP transfers of old recordings were comparatively few.Within a decade, both aspects of the dream were realised and entirelybecause of action by the Elgar Society.

On those evenings in 1973, David and I had in front of us a copy of the Elgardiscography that Jerrold Northrop Moore had prepared for the BritishInstitute of Recorded Sound in 1963. As well as listings and comments onthe composer’s own recordings, it contained a list of other recordings ofElgar’s music and it was from these pages that I made my requests. By then,Dr Moore had written Elgar on Record, which gave much more detail and

analysis of the Elgar sessions, but there were no longer any listings of Elgarrecordings by other performers. At that time, a number of members weresaying that it was not enough now for the Society just to exist - it needed tobe doing things. I therefore persuaded my colleagues on the Committee thatthe publication of a complete listing of all the known recordings of Elgar’smusic would be a worthwhile step. Months of research and hours at thetypewriter eventually yielded the first edition of my Elgar discography, Elgar’sInterpreters on Record, a slim A5 booklet, which sold for a mere £1.30. Thefeedback from all round the world was gratifying and, by the time ThamesPublishing produced a second edition in 1985, it had grown enormously.

Amongst the comments I received were a number pointing out that, whilstit was very interesting to read about records, that was no substitute forlistening to them. Their appetites had been whetted. By the late seventies,all of Elgar’s own recordings had been transferred to LP, but theircontemporaries, featuring performers known to him, were largely hiddentreasure-trove. And so I went to the Committee with a further idea - anaural companion to the discography, an LP with the same title, containingtransfers of some of the finest of these records which, being over fifty yearsold, were now out of copyright.

Although the Society had never issued records before, it had bothindividually through its members, as well as corporately, lobbied the recordcompanies to fill gaps in the Elgar catalogue and had been successful. Iremember a London Branch Committee meeting held in EMI’sheadquarters in about 1973, at which we were given the news that a fewhours earlier, approval had been given to record The Apostles. JohnWhittle, head of the Classical Division, had taken the opportunity of a newChief Executive to press the case, citing the letters he had received, and herecounted to us his conversation. ‘Will it make us any money?’ ‘No’ was thehonest reply. ‘Will it bring the company kudos and prestige?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘OK, goahead’ and that was it!

To produce our own recording was a task of a different order. I drew up asuggested list and then a number of Society members were asked tocomment. Of course, the Tudor Davies King Olaf extract was there andalso the extract from In the South recorded in Italy in 1909, just five yearsafter the work’s première, but never released in the United Kingdom. It wasdecided early on that the LPs should be produced by Nimbus, as they wererenowned at the time for the quality of their pressings and ability toproduce long sides. To reserve a slot in their production schedule, I wasasked over the telephone for a catalogue number. We hadn’t thought aboutthat and so off the top of my head ELG 001 was born. Bill Jackson, thenSecretary of the Society, talked to EMI about distribution to the trade.Conifer had just been established as distribution company and wasworking closely with EMI. In return for giving the distribution rights to


Conifer, EMI would transfer the 78s for us at Abbey Road at no cost. Whenthey were shown the list, they pointed out that Company policy was neverto have anything to do with the transfer of other companies’ recordings,even if they were out of copyright. This occasioned a very few minorchanges and I took the opportunity to include on the new list Sir AdrianBoult’s only recording of Sospiri, which was still just in copyright, to seewhat would happen. It appeared on the master tape without comment. TheEMI archives produced mint copies of one or two of the items, including thevery rare disc of The Crown of India March made in 1911. They were alsoable to provide details of the sessions for most of the tracks.

For the sleeve we chose the painting of Plas Gwyn that the Society hadcommissioned from Elizabeth Parrott as a 90th birthday present for SirAdrian Boult the year before. Notes were written and I then had to designthe label, get them printed and then dispatched to Nimbus. These weremoments when my full-time employment was seriously getting in the way ofproducing the record, or more probably vice-versa! More by good luck thanby skilled management, the records and sleeves were ready at the sametime, and my wife and I spent many hours putting them together. TheSociety arranged a launch party at a shop in central London and the recordattracted very favourable notices in a variety of newspapers and magazines.

Having established all the contacts, we were encouraged to think about afollow-up, on the grounds that it would be easier to market two recordsthan one. In 1967, Boult had conducted the BBC Singers in a programmeof Elgar’s Choral Songs. The BBC had just begun to record some of itssessions in stereo and, although not transmitted in that format at the time,we knew there was a stereo tape in the archives. Not only would this be theonly record ever of Sir Adrian conducting unaccompanied choral music,but it would also fill some gaps in the Elgar discography. Negotiationsbegan. Even if the BBC agreed to release the tape to us, in addition to a feeto the corporation, the original performers would need to be traced andpaid an additional fee as, at the time of the recording, their contracts werefor a radio broadcast, not a gramophone record. As soon as we showedsome interest, BBC Records, who had the final say, began to wonder if theyshouldn’t hold on to it. If we thought the public might buy it, then perhapsat some later date BBC Records ought to issue it. A host of letters and‘phone calls merely produced prevarication until the day when I telephonedand they were busy working on their records of the wedding of the Princeand Princess of Wales. In exasperation, they gave in. There was not quiteenough material to fill two sides and I wondered if the BBC Archives mightcontain any other useful material. Further telephone work eventually gaveme access to the Archives, and on a visit to Broadcasting House, I found twofascinating period pieces, both involving Sir Adrian. The first was aconversation he had with Elgar’s daughter, broadcast in 1940, andreminiscences from Sir Adrian, produced for the Overseas Service in 1951.

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Contracts were signed. The singers were paid. Designing the labels andsleeves, and arranging production was much easier second time around. Ata time when record buyers probably expected a photograph ofWorcestershire on an Elgar cover, Andrew Neill and I thought that it wouldbe good to highlight the link between Italy and the Choral Songs by using aphotograph of Tuscany. We went to the Italian Tourist Board in Londonand were able to choose from a vast array, which they were very happy forus to use without charge. (Andrew Neill subsequently visited the church inthe photograph, and the picture he took was used by EMI when, some yearslater, they took over ‘our’ Choral Songs record.) The critics again welcomedthe record very warmly and it was fascinating to hear reminiscences of thesessions from Peter Gellhorn, the chorus master, and Michael Pope, theproducer of the broadcast and, at that time, the Society’s Chairman, at thelaunch party at another London record shop. Again there were someexcellent reviews and the record was even chosen by the Sunday Times astheir record of the week.

Although the singers had been paid at standard rates, no one knew quitehow to negotiate with Sir Adrian. In the end, he was persuaded that, as theSociety’s President, he might feel able to waive his fee. Hence my visitdescribed in the opening paragraph, an opportunity in Sir Adrian’s words‘to meet the chap who diddled me out of a fee’!

Sales of ELGS 002 were encouraging, a second pressing was ordered andwe wondered about a third record. Midway through 1983, we heard thatSir Charles Groves was to conduct The Black Knight in Liverpool thefollowing April. This seemed a good opportunity on which to base apremière recording. We explored with a number of companies thepossibility of a joint venture. In the end, EMI said they would do it providedthe Society could come up with some money. Profits from the Choral Songsrecord, a grant from the Elgar Foundation and sponsorship from Reader’sDigest proved sufficient. This pattern of pump-priming recordings fromcommercial companies proved to be the pattern for the next decade.

Ron Taylor, then Editor of the Society’s JOURNAL, and I travelled up toLiverpool for the concert as guests of the orchestra. I stayed on another dayto attend the first of the recording sessions. Emulating Prince Esterhazy bysitting in the front of the circle in an otherwise empty auditoriumengendered delusions of grandeur! In the control room, there were worriesthat the opening was a touch pedestrian, but no one seemed brave enoughto suggest to Sir Charles that it might go a touch faster. This was an earlydigital recording and I remember problems ensuring that all was quiet onthe platform in the silence at letter D in Scene II. I also remember EdmundWalters, the chorus master, being very excited by The Snow, Fly SingingBird and the Spanish Serenade, which were recorded as fill-ups.


There was now only one major gap in the Elgar discography - King Olaf -but the trouble was that it was a big one and would be very expensive torecord. Nevertheless, encouraged by the good relationship which theSociety had established with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the ideaof making a recording of King Olaf with the orchestra began to be exploredin 1984. Conducted by its associate conductor, Vernon Handley, it gave aconcert in London’s Royal Festival Hall on 23 February to commemoratethe 50th anniversary of Elgar’s death. Subsequently both Handley andStephen Crabtree, then Managing Director of the orchestra, spoke at theSociety’s commemorative dinner in Malvern on 2 June and it was then thatthe idea of recording King Olaf with Vernon Handley and the Orchestra wasfirst broached, the idea being warmly supported by both guests. Many ofus remembered Handley’s conducting of King Olaf in Liverpool in 1978 andfelt certain he was the man for the project. Andrew Neill then arranged ameeting with Simon Foster, head of the Classical Division of EMI Recordsto discuss the idea of making the recording with EMI. His response wasimmediate: yes, it should be done with Handley and the LPO and TeresaCahill, one of the soloists in the Liverpool performance, should be invitedto sing the soprano role. In the meantime Bryan Rayner Cook also agreedto sing the baritone role. Simon Foster quickly advised that EMI wouldconsider the tenor role and would support the project financially, but notcompletely. The aim was to raise £10,000 by the middle of 1985, wellahead of the performance on 3 November, which would precede therecording sessions provisionally booked for the following month.

The Committee then embarked upon a fund-raising project, whichcanvassed every member of the Society together with a number ofcommercial organisations. Disappointingly, this only produced about halfof the target figure, but, with a contribution from the Elgar Foundation, EMIgenerously agreed to go ahead nonetheless. The November performancetook place with Anthony Rolfe-Johnson and the LPO chorus joiningHandley, the other soloists and the orchestra. Andrew Neill, who attendedthree of the recording sessions in No.1 Studio, Abbey Road, remembersbeing very worried at the six-week break between the Novemberperformance and the first session on 16 December. How well would thechorus (which included Geoffrey Hodgkins) remember this unfamiliarwork, and would the soloists be free of throat infections and the pressuresof Christmas? A week before the sessions, Anthony Rolfe-Johnsonwithdrew because of ill health, and from nowhere Philip Langridge steppedin as his substitute.

As it turned out, Langridge proved to be an inspired substitute, which withHandley’s leadership enabled the recording to take place without anyfurther problems. At the end, champagne flowed in the studio and thosepresent were unanimous in their feeling that something special had beencreated. Critical opinion has endorsed that hunch, and this King Olaf set

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has been widely regarded as one of the finest of Elgar choral recordings.Shortly afterwards, Andrew Neill left for a two-and-a-half-year spell inAustralia, but continued to keep in touch with EMI over further aspects ofthe project. He suggested the use of a photograph of the Sutton Hoo helmetfor the box front as the helmet is not only roughly contemporary with KingOlaf, but also reminds us of his English connections. EMI sent Andrew testpressings of the LPs and eventually the end result appeared, with notes byJerrold Northrop Moore, in all three formats (LP, cassette and CD). Thefull story of this project can be found in an article written by Andrew for theElgar Society JOURNAL (Volume 5, No.1).

As part of the arrangements with EMI, the company then bought out theSociety’s rights to the Choral Songs record and re-issued it both on LP andcassette, inevitably bringing it to a much wider audience. The original costswere therefore more than recouped and Michael Pope and I were even paida (small) fee for our sleeve notes! Communications with EMI from the otherside of the world were at times difficult, and Andrew points out that from aseries of photographs he had taken, EMI in due course reproduced thetower of Worcester Cathedral on the sleeve of its première recording of TheBanner of St George with the title ‘St Peter’s Church, Powick’!

By the end of the 1980s, the Compact Disc had emerged as the standardmedium for recorded music. Modern editing techniques when applied toolder recordings were also achieving much in reducing background noiseand distortion, as well as seemingly to expand the dynamic range. Much aswe might look back with nostalgia at our ‘78’ records, and the wonderfultwo boxes of Elgar’s recordings which EMI had produced in the 1970s, itwas felt by many that the time had come to discuss a CD edition of therecordings, which would benefit from the new technology and bring theseimportant historical documents to a new audience.

During 1988, Andrew Neill returned to London and re-joined the Society’sCommittee. It was eventually agreed to charge him with opening a dialoguewith EMI about this possibility. So began the first of many meetings withEMI, and in December 1990 he called on Stephan Bown, who now occupiedSimon Foster’s chair in EMI’s offices in Manchester Square. Theydiscussed the possibility of issuing separate CDs over a period of time tocover most of Elgar’s recordings, excluding the concertos, which hadalready been issued, and the fundamental issue of cost and the aid whichEMI would require to produce them. Thus developed a dialogue that wouldin due course culminate in one of the finest reissues of any composer’srecordings.

It was felt that the means to fund the project should become a priority forthe Society and the Elgar Foundation, which had funds left over from theWorcester Elgar Statue Appeal. Indeed, Sam Driver White (now Vice-


Chairman of the Foundation) had in turn stressed that the means shouldbe found of achieving the permanency of this unique series of recordings.The negotiations became further complicated by the fact that Stephan Bownhad left EMI at the end of 1990 and Andrew had then to go back toManchester Square at the end of January 1991 to meet Roger Lewis,Bown’s successor. What emerged was that EMI could only contemplate theissue of the eight CDs with financial assistance to the level of £30,000. Thefact that this was eventually reduced to £15,000 is a tribute, Andrew feels,to the support the project obtained from Roger Lewis, once it caught hisimagination. It was eventually agreed that the Society and Foundation(Statue Appeal) would contribute £7,500 each in three annual instalmentsin return for a royalty payment from EMI, and thus a proper Elgar Editionwould be produced.

During 1991, the project gained momentum, particularly with the close co-operation at EMI of Richard Abram, now an Honorary Member of theSociety. Of particular importance was the decision to issue the CDs inthree sets of three and to include every known electrical recording of Elgar,some of which had never been issued before. Mike Dutton, then workingfor EMI, was responsible for the engineering of the first set. EMI agreedwith the Society’s proposals that the set, which would also containsubstantial booklets largely written by Jerrold Northrop Moore, warranteda prestigious launch. This took place in Abbey Road Studio No.1 on 14 May1992, a date chosen to match with the availability of the President of boththe Society and Foundation, Lord Menuhin. Inspirationally, an excerptfrom Yehudi Menuhin’s and Elgar’s recording of the Violin Concerto (to bere-mastered by Andrew Walter for Volume 2) was played to an absorbedaudience from the Society, Foundation, journalism and the wider world ofmusic. Here, perhaps for the first time, the recording was heard in theplace in which it was made, with its soloist present on the stage. I doubtthat anyone there would forget that moment. The Society also tookadvantage of the occasion to award its first medal (given only to non-Britishcitizens), which Lord Menuhin presented to Jerrold Northrop Moore,whose guiding hand behind the renowned boxes of LPs of Elgar’srecordings and this project was vital to its quality and success.

That memorable launch for the edition led on some months later to aGramophone award. What was more important, the records began to sell,assisted by excellent and widespread publicity. There was no question thatthe high standard with which the series had begun would now bemaintained. Those members of the Society who own these three sets ofCDs will know just how much care and attention to detail went into theirproduction. This reflects the great support that EMI gave to the project andtheir willingness to take risks such as in the re-mastering of the SerenadeMauresque and issuing for the first time the original scherzo fromSymphony No.2.

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A very different project in 1994 saw co-operation between the Society, theCobbe Foundation and the National Trust. The 1844 Broadwood squarepiano that Elgar used in his study at Birchwood was closely associated withthe composition of The Dream of Gerontius, the first two Pomp andCircumstance Marches and the Enigma Variations. In 1989 theinstrument was given to the Royal Academy of Music, who in 1991transferred it, on permanent loan, to the Cobbe Foundation, whosecomposer-associated collection of instruments is one of the delights of avisit to Hatchlands, a National Trust property in Surrey. The Society wasdelighted to have the opportunity to support a CD of Elgar pianocompositions and transcriptions. Elgar’s own solo piano version of theVariations was particularly appropriate and the original short finale wasincluded as a separate track, its first appearance on record.

For many Elgarians, Sir Malcolm Sargent’s first recording of The Dream ofGerontius, made in 1945 with Heddle Nash in the title role, has never beensurpassed. HMV transferred it on to LP in the mid seventies, but it seemedvery unlikely that it would ever appear on CD. A very generous, anonymousdonation allowed the Society to negotiate in 1994 with a new label,Testament, and the two-disc set, which includes Tortelier’s first recordingof the ‘Cello Concerto, has been universally acclaimed and has soldexceptionally well, and indeed continues to sell. A further partnership withTestament in 1997 yielded a Boult CD, which included his first (1950)recording of Falstaff and an unpublished account of the Bach Fantasiaand Fugue transcription.

Elgar’s songs are often considered a minor part of his work, although manyare acknowledged to be of some quality. Therefore, the approach of SivaOke of SOMM Recordings to the Society to make a record of the songs waswelcomed. The Elgar Society Council agreed to give some financialassistance, and the recording sessions took place at Southlands College,London in April 1999. The distinguished accompanist was MalcolmMartineau with three fine singers, Catherine Wyn-Rogers, Neil Mackie andChristopher Maltman.

A few months earlier, the Society with the Foundation had again sponsoreda recording by the Spanish pianist, María Garzón, following an approach bythe distinguished record producer, Brian Culverhouse. With excellentnotes by the current secretary of the Society’s London Branch, this recordof Elgar’s piano music is important for a number of reasons. Not only doesit allow an overseas performer to bring her understanding of Elgar’s musicto a wider audience, but also enables us to hear the Enigma Variations ona modern piano, a timely issue for the work’s centenary.


Some of the most recent CD projects link back to the two original LPs.Although most of Elgar’s music for unaccompanied chorus was written withvery large forces in mind, most of the recordings hitherto had utilised asmall chamber choir, and that included the Boult recordings issued by theSociety. A small choir may bring clarity, but what is missing is the sheerscale of much of this underrated and rarely heard music. The Society putup the proposition of a set of recordings with the London SymphonyChorus and was able to support Hyperion in this, who brought in VernonHandley to conduct. The CD has had mixed reviews, but this has largelybeen because the reviewers do not seem to have appreciated that Elgar hadlarge choirs in mind and have based their views on comparisons with smallchoir recordings.

If that CD looked back to ELGS 002, then the Society’s current associationwith Dutton returns to the theme of ELG 001, recordings made by Elgar’scontemporaries. The series shares the title, Elgar’s Interpreters on Record,with both that first LP and my discography. Four volumes have appearedthus far with more planned. We have been able to include what we believeis the first ever recording of any of Elgar’s music, an account of Salutd’Amour, played by Mr G Jacobs, which appeared in around 1901. Thequality of the transfers on these Dutton CDs is remarkably good, with, forexample, the excerpts from The Dream of Gerontius conducted by SirHenry Wood in 1916 totally belying their age. Most of the items from ELG001 have now reappeared and so things have come full circle. You can nowhear Tudor Davies with a fidelity unimaginable in 1929, and that wonderfulKing Olaf disc is readily available to a wider public in a way unthinkable in1973, when David Michell first played it to me. Indeed it is David Michellwho edited together a ‘playing’ version of the 1924 recording of The Dreamof Gerontius conducted by Joseph Batten, which was issued as Volume 4of the series. His work, combined with that of Mike Dutton, has producedsomething extraordinary in a quality of sound unheard and inconceivablebefore.

Those of us involved in the production of these recordings over the last 20years feel happy that many gaps have been filled in Elgar’s discography. Wealso feel it is important that performances of an older generation shouldcontinue to be available to modern audiences, through the work of labelssuch as Testament and Dutton. As we come to the end of this activity, wecan also take a little pride in the wider understanding of Elgar’s music theSociety has been able to stimulate.

Half-Century62


15. Elgar Houses

Elgar lived in a great many houses; this may reflect a restless temperament,although, it should be stated, most houses were rented and several moveswere occasioned by inability to renew leases. The Elgar Society naturallytakes an interest in these houses, particularly those where he lived anumber of years and wrote his greatest works, although this concern isperipheral to the Society’s central purpose to promote a wider interest inElgar’s music. In addition to the houses where Elgar lived, there areproperties where he stayed as a guest and wrote music. The Society’sinterest extends to ensuring the important places have commemorativeplaques, providing accurate information about them to the public, andstating the case for the preservation of important houses when such housesare under threat. The Elgar Society is appreciative of the occasional accessthat some Elgar house-owners allow its members. However, it clearly doesnot possess the resources to fund remedial work. Furthermore, the Societycannot convincingly argue for the preservation of all buildings connectedwith Elgar.

One Elgar house clearly has special significance: Elgar’s Birthplace atBroadheath, which he wanted preserved, as he indicated to his daughter,Sir Barry Jackson and others. The preservation of this cottage and itscontents is in the capable hands of the Elgar Birthplace Trust, and the closeco-operation between Society and Trust is evidence of the Society’scommitment to Elgar’s Birthplace. With the agreement of the Trustees, theElgar Society absorbed the Friends of the Elgar Birthplace, since whenmembers of the Society have enjoyed free access to the Elgar BirthplaceMuseum.

The houses that Elgar lived in are listed in an appendix that indicates thosewith commemorative plaques. More information on the subject is to befound in a number of publications, including The Elgars of Worcester,written by K E L and Marion Simmons and published by the Elgar Society.Elgar owned three properties, including one bought for a relative. SevernHouse, Hampstead, was bought by Elgar and his wife in late 1911; this wassold in 1921 after Lady Elgar’s death and was demolished in 1937. In 1922,while living at St James’s Place, London W1, Elgar bought 2 WaterworksRoad, Barbourne, Worcester, for his sister, Lucy, and her husband, CharliePipe. Lucy died in 1925 and Charlie lived on here till his death in 1938,when ownership of the house came into Elgar’s Will Trust; this house stillstands. In 1929 Elgar bought Marl Bank, Rainbow Hill, Worcester, andlived the remainder of his life here; it was demolished in 1969.

Half-Century64

16. The Elgar Graves

Elgar’s Grave, St Wulstan’s Roman Catholic Church, Little Malvern

Elgar was buried on 26 April 1934 in the grave of his wife, Alice, at StWulstan’s, Little Malvern. Their daughter, Carice, saw to the upkeep of thegrave for the next 30 years. The Elgar Society’s involvement with Elgar’sgrave goes back to 1964, when Carice Elgar Blake asked the Committee toundertake its care at her expense. Six years later Carice died and wasburied close by her parents’ grave. A number of dedicated local membersof the Elgar Society have over the years provided flowers and kept awatchful eye on this part of the churchyard: Miss Dorothy Howell (d.1982),Miss Patricia Soper, Mr and Mrs Richard Hessel and Dr and Mrs GeoffreyBradshaw. They have contrived to ensure there is floral interest throughoutthe year. The Society provides money for flowers and for the services of agrass-cutter, but the efforts of the volunteers cannot be praised too highly.

By the 1990s over-mature cypresses to the south of the grave were toweringup against the churchyard wall, causing it to crumble and making thevicinity of the grave dark and gloomy. Moreover, inadequate surfacedrainage was causing the footpath to become sodden in winter. The churchtoo was requiring attention, particularly the roof, and a major restorationappeal was launched in 1996 to refurbish church and churchyard. TheElgar Society made a donation to the appeal specifically for improvementsto the churchyard around Elgar’s grave, as did members of the Elgar family.This work was completed in 1997.

~~~~o~O~o~~~~

The Elgar Family Grave, Astwood Cemetery, Astwood Road, Worcester

This is the grave of Elgar’s parents, William and Ann Elgar, and hisbrothers, Henry John and Frederick Joseph. Elgar himself had curbstoneserected round the plot and intended a gravestone (letter to Troyte Griffith,dated 25 October 1907), but the plan was never carried through.

In 1984 the West Midlands Branch of the Elgar Society erected a glazedwooden information cabinet, made by member Vernon Cartwright (d 1987).After several years, vandalism was taking its toll, and in 1995 the ElgarSociety had the cabinet replaced with a permanent Purbeck headstone by


Dike & Son of Cirencester. The cost was shared between the Society, theElgar Foundation and the Elgar family. (The inscription on the headstonegives the date of birth of Henry John as 1850; sources are at variance onthis date, which may have been 1848.) The Society pays an annual sum tothe City of Worcester to keep the surrounding grass weeded and cut.

Nearby are the graves of Elgar’s brother, Francis Thomas (Frank), anduncle, Henry Elgar. The wooden cross marking Frank’s grave was made byJack McKenzie and inscribed by Vernon Cartwright, and was installed bythe West Midlands Branch in 1986.

To find the Elgar Family Grave, enter Astwood Cemetery and proceed alongthe drive (initially one-way) to the car park beyond the crematorium. Walkback to the point where the drive forks into one-way entrance and exitsections. The graves are to be found in the Catholic part of the cemetery bya cross-path, a short distance into the triangle of land formed by the pathand the one-way drive.

Half-Century66

17. Elgar and the Internetby John Norris

John Norris set up and developed the Elgar Society’s web site on the Internet(http://www.elgar.org), and was instrumental in the formation of the Society’s newpublishing arm, Elgar Enterprises.

Despite its position as the largest United Kingdom-based composerappreciation society, at the end of 1995 the Elgar Society’s membershipremained predominantly British; fewer than 10% of members werepermanently resident outside the UK, many of them British nationals.Indeed, while touring British orchestras regularly perform works by Elgar,performances by foreign orchestras at home are notable for their rarity. Tocorrect this imbalance, the Elgar Society decided to develop its own Internetsite. The Society saw the international nature of the Internet helping to fulfilthree main aims: to spread knowledge of Elgar and his works around theworld; to recruit new members within the UK and abroad; and to providea better service to members and non-members alike.

This site, which is shared with the Elgar Foundation and Birthplace, wasestablished in December 1996. Within one month, the site had demonstratedits potential to fulfil all three aims: four new Society members, three ofthem living in the USA; visitors to the site from over 20 countries, includingJapan, Russia and Indonesia; and a flourishing e-mail correspondenceamong Society members and other Elgarians around the world. And all thisbefore the official launch of the site in March 1997. The site has since seena steady and continuing growth in visitors, now averaging 1,000 a week, ofwhom around 120 have gone on to become Society members.

The site is divided into a number of areas, each dealing with a separate aspectof Elgar. The Society and Birthplace have their own areas, the first includingdetails of all branch meetings and application forms for those wishing to jointhe Society, the second providing a virtual, room-by-room tour of theBirthplace. The Elgar Marketplace lists merchandise available through ElgarEditions (the Society’s publishing arm) and the Birthplace; Elgar Networkinglists other websites likely to interest Elgarians and the e-mail addresses ofElgarians wishing to exchange views with each other; and The Apostle is anon-line newspaper carrying news, reviews, letters, questions and answers,and a page of trivia questions to test even the most knowledgeable Elgarian.

But the two areas that form the backbone of the site are concernedrespectively with Elgar’s life and music. The former includes shortbiographies of Elgar in six languages, a pictorial tour of the houses Elgar

lived in and a monthly-changing ‘timeline’ cataloguing the events of theworld around Elgar 100 years ago. Not surprisingly, it is the area of the sitedevoted to Elgar’s music which is the most comprehensive, innovative andfrequently visited. Each of Elgar’s compositions has a separate pageproviding a short history of the work, with more extensive spreads withmusical excerpts on the Elgar-Payne Symphony, the ‘Cello Concerto andThe Dream of Gerontius. There is a rolling diary of forthcoming concertsfeaturing a work by Elgar which, freed from publishing deadlines, isupdated whenever we receive new details. And each month a new 2-3minute excerpt from one of Elgar’s compositions is added to the site. At anytime, a visitor can listen to seven varied excerpts of Elgar’s music whereverhe or she may be, thus making Elgar’s music accessible in parts of theworld where he would otherwise rarely be heard.

The website has given the Society a world-wide presence that allows others tocontact the Society with questions and requests for help. An e-mail postbag,which often exceeds forty items of mail a week, brings details of additionalconcerts to be added to the website diary, requests for help in locating andpurchasing scores, yet more solutions to the Enigma and a multitude ofmore obscure and varied queries. Perhaps the most offbeat was an offerfrom an Italian guitarist to give recitals of Elgar’s works for guitar! The mostcommon remains requests for the words to ‘Land of Hope and Glory’.

Some e-mails have led on to greater things. Perhaps the most notable wasan innocuous request from the host of a classical music radio programmein China, explaining that the range of available CDs of Western classicalmusic available in China was limited and asking if the Society would bewilling to donate a couple of CDs. The idea was met with enthusiasm by theSociety membership, who rushed to donate a total of more than twentyrecordings, resulting in the first Chinese radio broadcast of The Dream ofGerontius, a near simultaneous broadcast on Nanjing Music Radio andBBC Radio 3 of the Six Promenades for wind quintet, a Christmastelephone call from China to thank the Society for its generosity and somefavourable press coverage for the Society in a number of UK nationalnewspapers and music magazines. Other initiatives arising from e-mailshave proved less successful: two separate requests for assistance in makingTV documentaries on Elgar ended in disappointment as both programmesfailed to materialise.

But it is clear that the website will continue to play an important role in theSociety’s activities, attracting new members and offering new opportunities.As the Society ventures into the world of publishing with Elgar Editions, thewebsite is being used to sell our books to members of choirs, orchestrasand their audiences around the world who may never have heard of theSociety and would not otherwise come across the books.


Half-Century68

18. Finale

This slim volume has attempted to record and celebrate the achievementsof the Elgar Society in the first fifty years.

Somewhere in the region of one thousand meetings have been held atbranch or national level, enabling members to increase their knowledge andunderstanding of Elgar’s art, and to share their mutual enthusiasm.Hundreds of articles have been researched and written by members andpublished in the Elgar Society JOURNAL. Many meetings and articles haveimpinged on the lives and work of Elgar’s contemporaries in the world ofmusic. The Elgar Society has published or financially supported thepublication of several books on Elgar, including two volumes of essays,Elgar Studies (1990) and Edward Elgar: Music & Letters (1993), and acollection of articles on one of Elgar’s most significant works, The Best ofMe, a Gerontius Companion (1999). Elgar concerts have been promotedand day schools held. Importantly, interest in Elgar abroad has beenfostered.

The Elgar Society was responsible for the Elgar commemorative stone inWestminster Abbey (1972), and has helped maintain Elgar’s Grave at LittleMalvern and the Elgar Family Grave in Worcester. Commemorative plaqueshave been provided for the Elgar houses that needed them and the Londonhome of Elgar’s great supporter, August Jaeger.

Hours of Elgar’s music, many in historic performances, have beenproduced by the Elgar Society on LP record and compact disc, and therebybrought to a wider audience. Members of the Society lobbied successfullyfor the first, long-overdue recording of The Apostles (1974). The Societyfinancially supported the first recordings of The Black Knight (1984),Scenes from the Saga of King Olaf and The Banner of St George (1987),and the transfer to compact disc of the outstanding 1945 recording of TheDream of Gerontius, conducted by Sir Malcolm Sargent.

It is tempting to speculate on what Elgar’s reaction to this industry wouldbe. No doubt he would be astonished at the almost forensic scrutiny towhich his life has been subjected, and may well have ridiculed this activity.However, he would surely have lauded the work that has led to a widerknowledge and appreciation of his life’s work. It is incontrovertible that thepast fifty years have seen a transformation in the fortunes of Elgar’s music;members take pride that their Society has helped to bring this about.

1 (above) : Ronald Taylor(Journal Editor),David Morris (HonT r e a s u r e r ) ,Christopher Rob-inson (Chairman), Carol Holt (HonSecretary), TrevorFenemore-Jones(Vice-Chairman),L a w n s i d e ,Malvern, 26 May1990.

(courtesy ofMalvern Gazette).

2 (right) : G e o f f r e yHodgkins, currentEditor of the ElgarSociety JOURNAL,at the CotfordHotel, Malvernduring the 1998Birthday weekendcelebrations.

(Paul AdrianRooke)

3 (left) : Dr Jerrold NorthropMoore (Vice-President)about to be presentedwith the first ElgarMedal from Sir YehudiMenuhin (President),Abbey Road Studios,1992.

(courtesy ofEMI Records)

4 (below) : Richard Abram (EMlRe-issues Manager),Roger Lewis (Director,EMI Classical Division),Andrew Neill (ElgarSociety Chairman) andMichael Dutton (ElgarEdition sound engineer)with GramophoneRecord of the Yearaward for Vol 1 of TheElgar Edition, 1993.EMI is presenting itsaward to the ElgarSociety for the Society’spart in the project.

5 (above) : Elgar Society Thirtieth Anniversary Dinner, Abbey Hotel, Malvern,1981. Michael Kennedy (Vice-President and guest of honour), Michael Pope(Chairman), John Knowles (Hon Treasurer) and Andrew Neill (Hon Secretary).

(courtesy of Berrows Newspapers)

6 (below) : Wulstan Atkins (Vice-President), Jane Atkins, Martin Passande(London Branch Chairman) and Catherine Atkins at London Branchpresentation of 90th birthday cake to Wulstan Atkins, 1994. (Stephen Harper)

7 (above) : Tadaaki Otaka and Society Chairman Andrew Neill after thepresentation of the Elgar medal at St David’s Hall, Cardiff, 18 November2000. (Geoffrey Hodgkins)

8 (below) : Ann Vernau, John Wallace, John Norris, and Lani and Judy Spahrenjoy the Elgar Birthday Weekend celebrations at Tiltridge Vineyard, Upton-upon-Severn, 31 May 1998. (Paul Adrian Rooke)

Appendix 1 -Presidents and Vice-PPresidents of the Elgar Society

Presidents

1951-1983 Sir Adrian Boult, CH

1983-1999 Sir Yehudi (later Lord) Menuhin, OM, KBE

1999- Richard Hickox

Vice-Presidents

June, Marchioness of Aberdeen, CBE Sir Charles Mackerras, CBE

Dr Robert Anderson, FSA Diana McVeagh

Sir Ivor Atkins (d.1953) Yehudi (later Sir) Menuhin, OM, KBE (d.1999)

E Wulstan Atkins, MBE Dr Jerrold Northrop Moore

Dame Janet Baker, CH, DBE Professor-Emeritus Ian Parrott

Lady Evelyn Barbirolli, OBE Michael Pope

The Viscount Cobham, KG (d.1977)* A T Shaw (d.1981)

Sir Andrew Davis, CBE Leonard Slatkin

Sir Colin Davis, CBE Sir Georg Solti (d.1997)

Carice Elgar Blake (d.1970) Dr Herbert Sumsion, CBE (d.1995)

Sir Charles Groves (d.1992) Admiral Sir William Tennant, KCB, CBE, MVO (d.1963)**

Dr Douglas Guest, CVO (d.1996) Lionel Tertis (d.1975)

Dr Vernon Handley Dr Ralph Vaughan Williams, OM (d.1958)

Julius Harrison (d.1963) Sir William Walton, OM (d.1983)

Richard Hickox (President, 1999) Alan Webb (d.1992)

Sir Percy Hull (d.1968) Professor Sir Jack Westrup (d.1975)

Lady Molly Hull (d.1990) Sir David Willcocks, CBE, MC

Michael Kennedy, CBE Dr Percy Young

* Lord-Lieutenant of Worcestershire, 1963-74.** Lord-Lieutenant of Worcestershire, 1950-63.


Half-Century74

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Half-Century76

Appendix 3 - Honorary Members of the Elgar Society

At an Annual General Meeting, the Council of the Elgar Society maynominate for election to Honorary Membership of the Society any personwhose valued services to the Society should in the opinion of the Council bespecially recognised. Recommendations may be made at any time in writingby members to the Honorary Secretary for consideration by the Council.The Honorary Members of the Elgar Society are as follows :

Richard Abram* Mrs Winifred Lambert

E Wulstan Atkins, MBE (Vice-President 1992) Mr & Mrs Jack McKenzie

Mrs Wendy Barrett, formerly Pudney Raymond Monk

Christopher Bennett Andrew Neill

Christopher Bishop* Spencer Noble (d.1997)

Lady Ann Boult (d.1989) (widow of Sir Adrian)

Carice Elgar Blake (Vice-President 1970, d.1970)

Trevor Fenemore-Jones Douglas Pudney* (d.1978)

Frank Greatwich (d.2000) Mrs Douglas Pudney

Clifford Harker (d.1999) Mrs Lydia Shaw (d.1996)

E W A ‘Bill’ Jackson (d.1992) Ronald Taylor

Andrew Keener* Mrs L Tertis (widow of Lionel)

John Knowles Rev & Mrs Michael Vockins

Ian Lace John K R Whittle*

* From the world of recorded music.

Appendix 4 - Recipients of the Elgar Medal

The Elgar Medal was instituted by the Elgar Society in 1992 to honourthose who are not citizens of Great Britain and have done much to furtherElgar’s reputation, either by performance or through scholarship.

1992 Jerrold Northrop Moore1992 Leonard Slatkin1999 Jerzy Maksymiuk2000 Tadaaki Otaka


Appendix 5 - Dates of Formation of the Regional Branches of the Elgar Society

From 1951 to 1971, all Society events were organised nationally. Then,increasing membership nationwide led to the formation of regionalbranches.

1971 London1973 West Midlands (based on Worcester & Malvern)1975 East Midlands (wound up 1989)1978 North-West (based on Manchester)1978 East Anglia1979 Yorkshire (based on Leeds)1979 South-West (based on Bristol)1983 South Wales1990 Southern (based on Havant)1998 Scottish1998 Thames Valley (based on Thame)

The Elgar Society of Vancouver was affiliated to the Elgar Society in 2000.

Some members in the United States of America keep in touch with oneanother as an informal circle and there is a growing number of memberswith Internet access who conduct a vigorous correspondence by electronicmail.

An independent Sheffield & District Elgar Society existed from 1951 to1983.

An independent Elgar Society of the Netherlands was in existence in the1980s.

Half-Century78

1980

1982

1997

1998

2000

2000

1984

1985

1992/1993

ELG 001 (LP)

ELGS 002 (LP)

CDAX 8019 (CD)[Dutton]

CDAX 8020 (CD)[Dutton]

CDLX 7042 (CD)[Dutton]

CDLX 7044 (CD)[Dutton]

[HMV]EL 270157-1 (LP)EL 270157-4 (cass)[EMI]CDC 747511-2 (CD)CMS 565104-2 (CD)

[EMI]EX 270553-3 (LP)EX 270553-5 (cass) CDS 747659-8 (CD)CMS 565104-2 (CD)

[EMI]CDS 754560-2 (CD)CDS 754564-2 (CD) CDS 754568-2 (CD)

Elgar's Interpreterson Record

Elgar Choral Songs

Elgar's Interpreterson Record, Vol 1.




The Black Knight,Spanish Serenade, Fly Singing Bird, The Snow.

Scenes from the Saga of King Olaf

The Elgar Edition,Vol 1, Vol 2, Vol 3.

An anthology of earlyrecordings, 1906-1937.

BBC Chorus, Sir AdrianBoult (broadcast 1967).Subsequently released byHMV on ED 290818-1(LP), ED 290818-4(cassette).




Extracts from The Dream of Gerontius,cond. Joseph Batten

Liverpool PhilharmonicChoir, Royal LiverpoolPhilharmonic Orchestra,cond. Sir CharlesGroves.

Teresa Cahill, Philip Langridge, Brian Rayner Cook, London PhilharmonicChoir and Orchestra, cond. Vernon Handley.

Transfer of all Elgar'selectrical recordings. In 2000, the ElgarSociety purchased fromEMI all remaining unsoldstocks.

Appendix 6 - Elgar Society Recordings

The following recordings were part-funded by the Elgar Society:


Individual members of the Elgar Society campaigned for the first recordingof The Apostles (LPO, LPO Chorus, cond. Sir Adrian Boult, 1974) on LPEMI SLS 976 (reissued on CD in 1992 as CMS 7 64206 2).

1994

1994

1997

1997/98

1999

1999

[Cobbe Foundation]MRCD 94001 (CD)

[Testament]SBT 2025 (CD)

[Testament]SBT 1106 (CD)

[Hyperion]CDA 67019 (CD)

[ASV]CD DCA 1065 (CD)

SOMMCD 220 (CD)[Somm]

Elgar's Piano

The Dream ofGerontius,Cello Concerto.

Falstaff,Dream Children, Fantasia and Fugue(Bach).

Elgar Choral Songs

Elgar's transcriptionof Enigma Variationsand other works forpiano.

Elgar Songs

Anthony Goldstone playsElgar's 1844 Broadwoodsquare piano.

Sir Malcolm Sargent's1944 recording. PaulTortelier's 1954recording.

Recordings from 1949-1950, LondonPhilharmonic Orchestra,cond. Sir Adrian Boult.

London SymphonyChorus,cond. Vernon Handley.

María Garzón

Catherine Wyn-Rogers, Neil Mackie, Christopher Maltman, acc. Malcolm Martineau.

Appendix 7 - Elgar Society Publications

1955 Elgar: an Appreciation by Diana McVeagh, a lecture given atMalvern on 7 February 1955.

1957 Elgar: Master of the Orchestra, an address by Julius Harrison,given at Malvern on 11 February 1957. (republished by Elgar Editions, March 2000.)

1968 The Enigma: A New Slant by Ian Parrott.

1969 A Curator’s Notebook by Alan Webb.

1976 My Musical Grandfather by Yehudi Menuhin, an address given inLondon on 19 January 1976.(London Branch, republished by Elgar Editions, November 2000.)

1977 An Elgar Discography by John Knowles. (Thames Publishing brought out revised edition in 1986.)

1979 Providence and Art, a study of Elgar’s religious beliefs, byGeoffrey Hodgkins (London Branch).

1984 The Elgars of Worcester by K E L and Marion Simmons (to be republished by Elgar Editions in Elgar’s Britain, Part 1 - Worcester, May 2001.)

1984 Elgar and the Two Mezzos by David Bury (London Branch).

1995 Elgar: A Bibliography by Geoffrey Hodgkins (published for theElgar Society in The Music Review, Vol.54, No 1.)

1995 Elgar Family Tree by Michael Trott.

1999 The Best of Me - A Gerontius Centenary Companion, edited byGeoffrey Hodgkins (Elgar Editions).

2000 In the Bavarian Highlands, Edward Elgar’s German Holidays inthe 1890s, by Peter Greaves (Elgar Editions).

Half-Century80


App

endi

x 8

- A

T S

haw

Lec

ture

s

Th

e A

T S

haw

Lec

ture

s w

ere

inau

gura

ted

in

19

83

, an

d w

ere

so n

amed

in

hon

our

of t

he

fou

nd

ing

mem

ber

an

d l

ong-

tim

e C

hai

rman

of

the

Elg

ar S

ocie

ty,

A T

Sh

aw (

18

97

-19

81

).

19

83

, L

ond

onP

rofe

ssor

Bri

an T

row

ell

: E

lgar

’s U

se o

f L

iter

ature

[1]

19

85

, W

orce

ster

Mic

hae

l P

ope

: K

ing

Ola

f an

d T

he

En

glis

h C

hor

al T

radit

ion

[2]

19

87

, L

ough

bor

ough

Pro

fess

or I

vor

Key

s :

Th

e A

pos

tles

in

rel

atio

n t

o ot

her

set

tin

gs o

f th

e P

assi

on[3

]

19

89

, W

orce

ster

Dr

Per

cy Y

oun

g :

New

man

, E

lgar

an

d T

he

Dre

am o

f G

eron

tius

[4]

19

91

, W

orce

ster

Dia

na

McV

eagh

: ‘A

Man

’s A

ttit

ude

to L

ife’

[5]

19

93

, W

orce

ster

Dr

Rob

ert

An

der

son

: E

lgar

’s P

assa

ge t

o In

dia

[6]

19

95

, W

orce

ster

Pro

fess

or S

tep

hen

Ban

fiel

d :

Elg

ar’s

Cou

nte

rpoi

nt

[7]

19

97

, W

orce

ster

Pro

fess

or P

eter

Eva

ns

: E

lgar

’s ‘T

wo

Key

s at

On

ce’ an

d O

ther

Ton

al J

apes

19

99

, M

alve

rnD

r J

erro

ld N

orth

rop

Moo

re :

Th

e E

nig

ma

Var

iati

ons

a C

entu

ry O

n[8

]

1

Pu

blis

hed

in

exp

and

ed f

orm

in

Ed

war

d E

lgar

: M

usi

c &

Lit

erat

ure

, ed

. R

aym

ond

Mon

k,

pu

b.

Sco

lar

Pre

ss,

1993.

2

Pu

blish

ed i

n E

lgar

Stu

die

s, e

d.

Ray

mon

d M

onk

, p

ub

. S

cola

r P

ress

, 1

99

0.

3

Rés

um

é p

ub

lish

ed i

n E

lgar

Soc

iety

JO

UR

NA

L,

Sep

tem

ber

19

87

.4

P

ub

lish

ed i

n E

lgar

Soc

iety

JO

UR

NA

L,

Jan

uar

y 1

99

0.

5

Pu

blish

ed i

n E

dw

ard

Elg

ar:

Mu

sic

& L

iter

atu

re,

ed.

Ray

mon

d M

onk

, p

ub

. S

cola

r P

ress

, 1

99

3.

6

Pu

blish

ed i

n E

lgar

Soc

iety

JO

UR

NA

L,

Mar

ch 1

99

5.

7

Pu

blish

ed i

n M

usi

cal

Tim

es,

Su

mm

er 1

99

9.

8

Pu

blish

ed i

n E

lgar

Soc

iety

JO

UR

NA

L,

Nov

emb

er 1

99

9.

Half-Century82

Appendix 9 - Plaques on Elgar Houses

Bold type indicates plaque provided by the Elgar Society. Most of the remainingplaques were provided earlier by Mrs Elgar Blake.

The Firs, Crown East Lane, Upper Broadheath, nearWorcester, now Elgar’s Birthplace Museum (postaladdress, Lower Broadheath!).

*1 Edgar Street, Worcester (demolished in 1870s). Thishouse stood in what is now roadway opposite Castle Place.

*2 College Precincts, Worcester. The Elgar family livedhere before their move to Broadheath in 1856 (pre-1861,College Precincts was known as College Yard East).

*10 High Street, Worcester (demolished mid 1960s).This site is now part of Russell & Dorrell’sdepartment store and is approximately identified byplaque (which shows Elgar family’s move to 10 HighStreet incorrectly as 1866).

Loretto Villa, 35 Chestnut Walk, Worcester (presentno.12). This was the home of Elgar’s sister, Pollie.

4 Field Terrace, Bath Road, Worcester. This was thehome of Elgar’s sister, Lucy.

3 Alexander Gardens, Ventnor, Isle of Wight (for the Elgars’honeymoon). This house is now the Bermuda guest house.

3 Marloes Road, Kensington. Temporary accommodation.

**Saetermo, 7 The Lees, Great Malvern. Temporaryaccommodation.

4 The Lees, Great Malvern. Temporary accommodation.

Oaklands, Fountain Road, Upper Norwood(demolished circa 1920, road now Fountain Drive).

51 Avonmore Road, West Kensington.

***2 The Limes, Hornyold Road, North Malvern (now16 Hornyold Road). Temporary accommodation.

Forli, 35 Alexandra Road, Malvern Link (now no.37)

Birchwood Lodge, Storridge, near Malvern. Summercottage only.

Craeg Lea, 86 Wells Road, Malvern Wells. This housewas named by the Elgars.

Plas Gwyn, 27 Hampton Park Road, Hereford.

58 New Cavendish Street, London W1 (demolished1971). Temporary accommodation.

Plaque

Plaque

Plaque

Plaque

Plaque

Plaque

Plaque

Plaque

Plaque

Plaque

1857-59

1859-61

1861-63

1863-79

1879-83

1883-89

1889

1889

1889

1889

1889-90

1890-91

1891

1891-99

1898-1903

1899-1904

1904-11

1910


* Ref. The Elgars of Worcester by K E L and Marion Simmons, published bythe Elgar Society. (Elgar once indicated to Edgar Day Tower House in what isnow Severn Street, but it is quite possible that Elgar was mistaken, being only3 or 4 when the family left the house.)

** Ref. letter from Nigel Edwards to compiler, 6 May 1982.

*** Ref. article by Nigel Edwards in Worcester Evening News, 15 April 1982.

All the above houses were rented, except Severn House and Marl Bank, whichwere owned by Elgar.

The Elgar Society provided a plaque, unveiled on the 100th anniversary of thepremiPre of the Enigma Variations, for the home of A J Jaeger (‘Nimrod’) from1902 to 1909: 37 Curzon Road, Muswell Hill, London.

The London and Yorkshire Branches of the Elgar Society installed a plaqueon the house of Elgar’s Yorkshire friend, Dr Charles Buck, in Settle; thisbuilding is now a bank.

There are various other plaques with Elgar connections, such as at EMI’sAbbey Road Studios in London; the place on the bank of the River Wye inHereford where G R Sinclair’s bulldog, Dan, leapt into the river, inspiring avariation of Elgar’s Enigma Variations; and at 20 Church Street, Hereford, thehome of G R Sinclair, where Dan is buried.

1910/11

1911

1912-21

1917-21

1921-23

1923-27

1927-28

1928-29

1929-34

Queen Anne’s Mansions, London SW1 (demolished1972). Temporary accommodation. This building stoodat the corner of Petty France and Queen Anne’s Gate.

76 Gloucester Place, London W1 (present no.97).Temporary accommodation.

Severn House, 42 Netherhall Gardens, Hampstead(demolished 1937, present no.44 is built on site, inspite of plaque on no.42). This house was named bythe Elgars.

Brinkwells, Fittleworth, West Sussex. Summercottage only.

37 St James’s Place, London W1.

Napleton Grange, Napleton, Kempsey, near Worcester.

Battenhall Manor, Worcester (demolished 1964). Amulberry tree in the garden of 24 Arundel Drive wasplanted in 1931 by Elgar and the owner of BattenhallManor, Mrs C S Buckle, to mark Elgar’s stay. Aplaque was erected in 1972 by Worcester CityCouncil, but it has not survived.

Tiddington House, Tiddington, Stratford-upon-Avon(demolished 1964). Site now occupied by Beeches Walk.

Marl Bank, Rainbow Hill, Worcester (demolished1969). Site now occupied by Elgar Court flats.

Plaque

Plaque

Plaque

Plaque

Half-Century84

App

endi

x 10

- E

lgar

Mile

ston

es, 1

951-

22001

Bol

d t

ype

ind

icat

es s

up

por

t b

y th

e E

lgar

Soc

iety

.

19

51

19

55

19

56

19

57

19

58

19

60

19

62

19

63

19

65

19

67

Boo

ks

Elg

ar:

His

Lif

e &

Wor

ks

by

Dia

na

McV

eagh

Elg

ar,

OM

by

Per

cy Y

oun

g

Let

ters

of

Ed

wa

rd E

lga

red

. P

ercy

You

ng

Cen

ten

ary

Sket

ches

(Nov

ello

)

Let

ters

to

Nim

rod

ed.

Per

cy Y

oun

g

Fir

st R

ecor

din

gs

Org

an S

onat

a

Th

e M

usi

c M

aker

s

Eve

nts

of

Sig

nif

ican

ce

Firs

t fo

rmal

mee

ting

of E

lgar

Soc

iety

in

Mal

vern

.E

lgar

Fes

tiva

l in

Mal

vern

(fo

llow

ing

sim

ilar

fest

ival

s in

19

47

& 1

95

0).

In

depe

nden

t She

ffiel

d &

Dis

tric

t Elg

ar S

ocie

ty s

et u

p.

Elg

ar C

ente

nary

Ser

vice

in

Wor

cest

er C

athe

dral

.M

any

Elg

ar c

once

rts

to m

ark

cent

enar

y of

his

bir

th.

Intr

odu

ctio

n o

f st

ereo

rec

ord

s, l

ead

ing

tod

elet

ion

of

mon

o E

lgar

rec

ord

ings

wit

hou

tim

med

iate

ste

reo

rep

lace

men

t.

Elg

ar b

ust

un

veil

ed i

n P

rior

y P

ark,

Mal

vern

.

Ken

Ru

ssel

l/Hu

w W

hel

don

doc

um

enta

ry f

ilm

on E

lgar

for

Mon

itor

pro

gram

me

on B

BC

TV

.

Dem

olit

ion

of

10

Hig

h S

tree

t, W

orce

ster

(E

lgar

fam

ily

mu

sic

shop

up

to

19

28

).


19

68

19

69

19

70

19

71

19

72

19

73

19

74

19

75

Por

tra

it o

f E

lga

rb

y M

ich

ael

Ken

ned

yA

Fu

ture

for

En

glis

h M

usi

c &

Oth

er L

ectu

res

by

Ed

wa

rd E

lga

red

. P

ercy

You

ng

Elg

ar

by

Mic

hae

l H

urd

Elg

ar

by

Ian

Par

rott

(D

ent’s

Mas

ter

Mu

sici

ans

seri

es)

Ed

wa

rd E

lga

r: t

he

Rec

ord

of

aF

rien

dsh

ipb

y R

osa

Bu

rley

&F

ran

k C

arru

ther

sE

lga

r, A

Lif

e in

Ph

otog

rap

hs

by

Jer

rold

Nor

thro

p M

oore

Elg

ar

on R

ecor

d(l

ette

rs)

ed.

Jer

rold

Nor

thro

p M

oore

Th

e K

ingd

omR

oma

nce

for

Ba

ssoo

n

Kin

g A

rth

ur

Su

ite

Th

e A

pos

tles

Th

e S

an

guin

e F

an

Pol

onia

Mu

sic

for

Gra

nia

an

dD

iarm

id

Los

t M

S o

f E

lgar

’s C

once

rt A

lleg

rofo

r p

ian

o is

fou

nd

an

d i

s p

erfo

rmed

by

Joh

n O

gdon

.

Dem

olit

ion

of

Elg

ar’s

las

t h

ome,

Mar

l B

ank

,R

ain

bow

Hill, W

orce

ster

.

Dea

th o

f C

aric

e E

lgar

Bla

ke,

Elg

ar’s

dau

ghte

r.A

bor

tive

att

emp

t b

y B

ern

ard

van

Die

ren

to

star

t U

nit

ed K

ingd

om E

lgar

Soc

iety

. E

lgar

’sH

eref

ord

hom

e, P

las

Gw

yn,

un

der

tem

por

ary

thre

at o

f d

emol

itio

n.

For

mat

ion

of

Elg

ar S

ocie

ty’s

fir

st r

egio

nal

bra

nch

(L

ondon

).

Un

veil

ing

of c

omm

emor

ativ

e st

one

inW

estm

inst

er A

bbey

.R

eiss

ue

of m

ajor

Elg

ar-c

ond

uct

ed r

ecor

din

gsof

his

mu

sic

on L

P (

HM

V I

ma

ges

of E

lga

rb

oxse

t).

Sta

rt o

f re

gula

r E

lgar

Soc

iety

NE

WS

LE

TT

ER

(ed.

E W

uls

tan

Atk

ins)

.T

he

Elg

ar B

irth

plac

e T

rust

est

ablis

hes

the

Elg

arFo

unda

tion

to r

aise

fun

ds for

the

Elg

ar B

irth

plac

e.

Rei

ssue

of re

mai

ning

Elg

ar-c

onduc

ted r

ecor

din

gson

LP

(H

MV

Elg

ar

on R

ecor

db

ox s

et).

Hop

e &

Glo

ry,

an a

mat

eur

film

por

trai

t of

Elg

ar b

y J

ohn

Pik

e.

Half-Century86

19

76

19

77

19

78

19

80

19

81

19

82

19

83

19

84

Ali

ce E

lga

r: E

nig

ma

of

aV

icto

ria

n L

ad

yb

y P

ercy

You

ng

Elg

ar

Cou

ntr

yb

y B

arry

Col

lett

Elg

ar:

His

Lif

e &

Tim

esb

y S

imon

Mu

nd

y

Elg

ar

Liv

ed H

ere

by

Pau

lin

e C

olle

tt

An

Elg

ar

Com

pa

nio

ned

. C

hri

stop

her

Red

woo

d

Elg

ar:

Th

e M

an

by

Mic

hae

l D

e-L

a-N

oy

Ed

wa

rd E

lga

r: A

Cre

ati

ve L

ife

by

Jer

rold

N

orth

rop

M

oore

Spir

it o

f E

ngl

and

: E

dw

ard

Elg

ar

inH

is W

orld

by J

erro

ld N

orth

rop

Moo

reT

he

Elg

ar-

Atk

ins

Fri

end

ship

by

E W

uls

tan

Atk

ins

Th

e S

tarl

igh

t E

xpre

ssO

boe

Sol

iloq

uy

Ca

ract

acu

sC

oron

ati

on O

de

Th

e S

pir

it o

f E

ngl

an

d

Win

d Q

uin

tets

(‘sh

ed’ m

usi

c)

Th

e L

igh

t of

Lif

e

Th

e B

lack

Kn

igh

t

Sta

rt o

f E

lgar

Soc

iety

NE

WS

LE

TT

ER

(n

ewfo

rmat

)/J

OU

RN

AL

(ed

. R

onal

d T

aylo

r).

Elg

ar’s

Her

efor

d h

ome,

Pla

s G

wyn

, ag

ain

un

der

tem

por

ary

thre

at o

f d

emol

itio

n.

Abor

tive

atte

mp

t by

Elg

ar F

oun

dat

ion

to

bu

y P

las

Gw

yn.

Fir

st p

erfo

rman

ces

of T

he

Ap

ostl

esan

d T

he

Kin

gdom

on s

ame

day

(2

7 M

ay)

by

Ph

ilom

us-

ica

of G

lou

cest

ersh

ire

in T

ewk

esb

ury

Ab

bey

.

Elg

ar S

ocie

ty’s

fir

st L

P r

ecor

din

g, E

LG

00

1.

Un

veil

ing

of E

lgar

sta

tue

in W

orce

ster

.E

lgar

Soc

iety

mem

ber

ship

exc

eeds

1,0

00

.In

trod

uct

ion

of

com

pac

t d

iscs

.

Nov

ello

’s E

lgar

Com

ple

te E

dit

ion

: T

he

Dre

am

of G

eron

tiu

san

d t

he

Fir

st S

ymp

hon

y.E

lgar

Soc

iety

’s s

econ

d LP r

ecor

ding

, E

LG

S 0

02

Dea

th o

f fi

rst

Pre

sid

ent

of E

lgar

Soc

iety

, S

irA

dri

an B

oult

. S

ir Y

ehu

di

(lat

er L

ord

) M

enu

hin

succ

eed

s as

sec

ond

Pre

sid

ent.

Sh

effi

eld

&D

istr

ict

Elg

ar S

ocie

ty i

s w

oun

d u

p.

Nov

ello

’s E

lgar

Com

ple

te E

dit

ion:

The

Apos

tles

.M

any

Elg

ar c

once

rts

to m

ark

50

th a

nn

iver

sary

of E

lgar

’s d

eath

in

19

34

.E

stab

lish

men

t of

‘Elg

ar R

oute

’ in

Wor

cest

er.

Hop

e &

Glo

ry,

a fi

lm a

pp

rais

al o

f E

lgar

’s l

ife

& w

ork

by

Jim

Ber

row

for

Cen

tral

Tel

evis

ion

.


19

85

19

86

19

87

19

88

19

89

19

90

19

92

19

93

19

95

Elg

ar

& H

is P

ub

lish

ers

(let

ters

)ed

. J

erro

ld N

orth

rop

Moo

re

Ed

wa

rd E

lga

r: T

he

Win

dfl

ower

Let

ters

ed. J

erro

ld N

orth

rop

Moo

re

Elg

ar

Stu

die

sed

. R

Mon

kE

lga

r in

Ma

nusc

ript

by R

And

erso

nE

dw

ard

E

lga

r: L

ette

rs o

f A

Lif

etim

eed

. J

N M

oore

Elg

ar

by

Rob

ert

An

der

son

(D

ent’s

Mas

ter

Mu

sici

ans

seri

es)

Joh

n H

enry

New

ma

n,

Ed

wa

rdE

lga

r &

Th

e D

rea

m o

f G

eron

tiu

sb

y P

ercy

You

ng

Edw

ard

Elg

ar:

Mu

sic

&L

iter

atu

reed

. R

Mon

k

Ed

wa

rd E

lga

r: S

acr

ed M

usi

cb

yJ

ohn

Allis

onE

lga

r, N

ewm

an

& T

he

Dre

am

of

Ger

onti

us

in t

he

Tra

dit

ion

of

Engl

ish C

ath

olic

ism

by P

ercy

You

ng

Kin

g O

laf

Th

e B

an

ner

of

St

Geo

rge

Un

e V

oix

da

ns

le D

éser

tL

e D

rap

eau

Bel

ge

Pow

ick

Asy

lum

mu

sic

Sk

etch

es f

or T

hir

dS

ymp

hon

yM

usi

c fo

r T

he

Sp

an

ish

La

dy

(ed

. P

ercy

You

ng)

Nov

ello

’s E

lgar

Com

ple

te E

dit

ion

: T

he

Kin

gdom

and

th

e S

econ

d S

ymp

hon

y.

Wes

t M

idla

nds

Bra

nch

ere

cts

cros

s to

mar

kgr

ave

of E

lgar

’s b

roth

er,

Fra

nk,

in A

stw

ood

Cem

eter

y, W

orce

ster

.

Elg

ar S

ocie

ty b

ecom

es a

reg

iste

red c

har

ity.

Res

tora

tion

of

grav

esto

ne

of E

lgar

’s f

rien

d,

Can

on G

orto

n,

at B

rein

ton

, n

ear

Her

efor

d(W

est

Mid

lan

ds

Bra

nch

).N

ovel

lo’s

Com

plet

e E

lgar

Edi

tion:

The

Lig

ht o

f Li

fe.

Rei

ssue

of E

lgar

-con

duct

ed r

ecor

din

gs o

nC

D (

EM

I E

lgar

Edit

ion

3-v

olum

e se

t).

(Gra

mop

hon

e aw

ard

to

EM

I fo

r V

ol.1

.)

Nov

ello

’s C

omp

lete

Elg

ar E

dit

ion

: m

usi

c fo

ror

gan

.

Ere

ctio

n o

f h

eadst

one

for

Elg

ar f

amil

ygr

ave,

Ast

woo

d C

emet

ery,

Wor

cest

er.

Sh

ell

of n

ew c

entr

e er

ecte

d a

t E

lgar

’sB

irth

pla

ce (

bu

ild

ing

com

ple

ted

in

20

00

).

Half-Century88

19

96

19

97

19

98

19

99

20

00

Elg

ar’

s G

iga

nti

c W

orx:

Th

e S

tory

of T

he

Ap

ostl

es T

rilo

gyb

yM

ich

ael

Fos

ter

Ed

wa

rd E

lga

r: A

Gu

ide

toR

esea

rch

by

Ch

rist

oph

er K

ent

Ed

wa

rd E

lga

r: A

Sou

rce

Boo

kb

yS

tew

art

Cra

ggs

Con

du

ctin

g E

lga

rb

y N

orm

an D

elM

ar

Elg

ar:

En

igm

a V

ari

ati

ons

by

Ju

lian

Ru

shto

nE

lga

r’s

En

igm

a V

ari

ati

ons

by

Pat

rick

Tu

rner

Elg

ar

& T

he

Th

ree

Ch

oirs

Fes

tiva

lb

y D

onal

d H

un

tT

he

Bes

t of

Me,

A G

eron

tiu

sC

ompan

ion

ed.

Geo

ffre

yH

odgk

ins

In t

he

Bava

rian

Hig

hla

nds,

Edw

ard

Elg

ar’

s G

erm

an

Hol

idays

in t

he

18

90

sby

Pet

erG

reav

es

Ela

bora

tion

of T

hird

Sym

ph-

ony

sket

ches

(Ant

hony

Pay

ne)

Slo

w m

ovem

ent

of p

ian

oco

nce

rto

(ed

. P

ercy

You

ng)

Ab

orti

ve a

ttem

pt

to e

stab

lish

Elg

ar C

entr

e fo

rE

ngl

ish

Mu

sic

at L

awn

sid

e, M

alve

rn.

Elg

ar S

ocie

ty’s

web

site

est

abli

shed

on

th

eIn

tern

et.

Impro

vem

ents

aro

un

d E

lgar

Gra

ve,

St

Wuls

tan

’s,

Lit

tle

Mal

vern

.E

lgar

Soc

iety

’s f

irst

CD

, E

lgar’

sIn

terp

rete

rs o

n R

ecor

d,

Vol

.1.

Elg

ar S

ocie

ty’s

sec

ond C

D,

Elg

ar’

sIn

terp

rete

rs o

n R

ecor

d,

Vol

.2.

Dea

th o

f se

con

d P

resi

den

t of

Elg

ar S

ocie

ty,

Lor

d M

enu

hin

. R

ich

ard

Hic

kox

su

ccee

ds

asth

ird

Pre

sid

ent.

Ap

pea

ran

ce o

f E

lgar

on

£2

0 n

ote.

Elg

ar S

ocie

ty’s

th

ird C

D,

Elg

ar’

sIn

terp

rete

rs o

n R

ecor

d,

Vol

.3.

Elg

ar S

ocie

ty t

akes

lea

d i

n a

ttem

pt

toco

mple

te E

lgar

Com

ple

te E

dit

ion

. E

lgar

Cen

tre

at E

lgar

’s B

irth

pla

ce c

omp

lete

d.

Un

veilin

g of

Elg

ar S

tatu

e an

d E

nig

ma

Fou

nta

in i

n M

alve

rn.

Elg

ar S

ocie

ty’s

fou

rth

CD

, T

he

Dre

am

of

Ger

onti

us,

con

d.

Jos

eph

Bat

ten

(1

92

4).

Elgar by Richard Hall, Gloucester, 1922 (courtesy of Elgar's Birthplace)

Half-Century90

Back cover (top): Ripon Diocesan Coat of Arms that hung in Elgar's studywindow at Marl Bank (see 'Batt' drawing) and was taken to 'Woodend' atBroadheath by Carice Elgar Blake after her father's death. Elgar toldWulstan Atkins that he had bought it in a second-hand shop in either York orLeeds. Wulstan recalled that Elgar was always buying oddments connectedwith cathedrals, and the coat of arms seems to have had no significance forElgar other than that he liked it..(Photograph by Michael Trott by permission of Mrs Vera Carter of Woodend;

heraldic information from Michael Furlong and Heward Rees)

Back cover (bottom): Roberts Coat of Arms in petit point by Lady Elgar.(Raymond Monk Collection, photograph by Gordon Richmond)

All enquiries about membership of the Elgar Society should be addressed to:-

David Morris, 2 Marriott’s Close, Haddenham, Aylesbury, Bucks HP17 8BT, UK

Telephone: +44 1844 299239Fax: +44 1844 290742

E-mail: [email protected]

ISBN 0 90537082 2 5

half century, the elgar society 1951-2001

Documents